THE 

PRA'^TICAL PLANTER: 

CONTAINING DIRECTIONS FOR THE PLANTING OF 
WASTE LAND, AND MANAGEMENT OF WOOD : 

WITH A NEW METHOD OF REARING THE OAK. 



BY THOMAS CRUICKSHANK, 

ti 

FORESTER AT CARESTOxV. 



WILLIAM BLACKWOOD, EDINBURGH : AND 
T. CADBLL, STRAND, LONDON. 
MDCCCXXX. 



NEILL & CO. PRINTERS. 



TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
THE EARL OF FIFE, VISCOUNT MACDUFF;, BARON BRACO, 
K. T. G. C. G. K. S. F. ETC. 

THE FOLLOWING PAGES, 
ON THE PROPAGATION AND BIANAGEMENT OF FOREST TREES, 
THE RESULT OF EXPERIENCE CHIEFLY ACQUIRED 
IN HIS lordship's SERVICE, ARE BIOST 
RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 
BY HIS MOST DEVOTED, FAITHFUL, HUMBLE SERVANT, 

THO^ CRUICKSHANK. 



PREFACE, 



The circumstances that gave rise to the 
sheets now offered to the pubhc, were the 
following. 

The author's attention was drawn, many 
years ago, to the culture of the Oak, both 
from observing the numerous failures that 
took place in attempts to rear it in the part 
of the country where he then was, and by 
hearing frequent discussions regarding the 
cause of these failures among those with 
whom his employment led him to associate^ 

By reflecting that oak once grew plenti- 
fiilly in Scotland, he imagined that the fail- 



Vi PREFACE. 

ures in question could not, in every case, be 
occasioned either by climate or soil, as was 
commonly supposed ; and he began to sus- 
pect that the fault lay in the mode of cul- 
tivation. In this opinion he vras confirmed 
by what he had observed to take place in 
• the nursery ; and as soon as circumstances 
afforded him opportunity, he put his sur- 
mises to the proof, by certain very simple, 
but, as it appeared to him, decisive experi- 
ments. The result of these first led him to 
conceive the idea of writing a short treatise 
on the culture of oak, and he intended, at 
first, to confine his remarks to that subject 
only. After becoming acquainted, however, 
with the expensive manner in which plant- 
ing in general, but especially the planting of 
firs, is carried on in certain districts, he 
thought it would be useful to give an ac- 
count of the far more economical methods, 
which he had h imself seen extensively, as well 



PREFACE. vii 

as successfully, practised. He was led still far- 
ther to extend his plan, by finding that some 
of the most popular works on the subject of 
arboriculture inculcated principles which he 
could not but deem erroneous, without re- 
jecting the testimony of some of the plain- 
est and most certain facts that had fallen 
under his notice. Thus, the work gradually 
assumed its present form, containing remarks 
on the culture and management of the diffe- 
rent kinds of wood, from the raising of the 
plant in the nursery, to the cutting down of 
the full grown tree. 

In the introductory remarks, the reader 
will find a short view of the advantages to 
be derived from the cultivation of wood, and 
a summary of the more important errors 
usually committed in that department. The 
first chapter gives a brief account of the 
principal trees, whose culture is described 



viii FREFACE. 

in the following part of the work. The sub- 
jects next treated are the nursery, saving of 
the seeds of trees, and purchasing of plants. 
A chapter on the quahties of soil most pro- 
per for the different kinds of trees, with re- 
marks on aspect and elevation, and another 
on ascertaining the quality of waste land 
from the nature of the wild plants which 
grow on it, succeed. The planting of waste 
lands is the next subject that comes under 
consideration. Then the management of 
woods, according to the principles of the new 
method proposed by the author ; the propa- 
gation of underwood, and remarks on rais- 
ing succession crops of timber, follow in the 
order in which they are here mentioned. 
An account of Sir Henry Steuart's cele- 
brated method of giving immediate effect to 
wood, by removing hirge trees, is added, as a 
topic which it would now be unpardonable 
to omit in any book on planting ; and the 



PREFACE. ix 

work closes with a sketch of the properties 
and appHcations of the dilferent kinds of 
British timber. 

With the exception of a few discussions, 
which could not well be avoided, the matter 
contained under these heads will be found 
of a strictly practical clescription, and, so far 
as it is so, (exclusive of the chapter which 
gives an account of Sir Henry Steuart's 
system), it is wholly the result of the author's 
experience. To this he has nothing to add ; 
but that, as it is possible he may have some- 
times fallen into mistakes by drawing wrong 
conclusions from what he has observed and 
seen, he has been careful to state the facts 
on which his opinions rest, that the reader 
"may the more easily judge for himself 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Introductory Remarks, ... 1 

1. Advantages of planting-, . . . ib, 

2. Errors generally committed in the cultivation of 

' wood, ..... 23 



CHAPTER I. 
Brief account of the various kinds of trees 



WHOSE culture IS DESCRIBED IN THIS WORK, 36 

Scots Fir, or Pine, . . . . ib. 

The Larch, . . . . .42 

The Spruce, .... 44 

The Silver Fir, . . . . ib. 

Balm of Gilead, .... 45 
The Oak, ..... ib. 
The Ash, ..... 47 
The Elm, ..... 48 
The Plane, or Sycamore, . . . ib. 

The Beech, . . , . .49 

The Chestnut, .... ib. 



xii CONTENTS. 

Page 

The Lime, . . . . .50 

The Birch, . . . . . 51 

The Alder, ..... ib. 
The WiUow and Poplar, . , , 52 

Hazel, Hawthorn, Holly, &c. . . 53 

CHAPTER H. 

The Nursery, , . . . .54 

Rotation of crops, . . , ^64 

Sowing, . . . . .65 

Transplanting", . . . . 70 

Propagating by cuttings and layers, . 74 
Weeding, ..... 75 

Pruning, . . . ^ . 76 

Saving the seeds of trees, . . . 77 

CHAPTER HI. 
Purchasing Plants, ... c 84 



CHAPTER IV. 

On the qualities of soil most proper for the dif- 
ferent VARIETIES OF FOREST TREES ; WITH RE- 
MARKS ON ASPECT AND ELEVATION, . . 93 

CHAPTER V. 

Directions for ascertaining the quality of avaste 
land from the nature of the wild plants 
that grow on it, . , . .112 



CONTENTS. 



xiii 



CHAPTER VI. 

Page 

Planting of Waste Land, . . . 120 

Sect. 1. Preparation of the ground for the reception 

of the plants, . . . ih. 

Sect. 2. On the Age which the different kinds of 
trees ought to be when they are removed 
from the Nursery to Waste Land — De- 
scription of various Methods of Planting, 130 

Sect. 3. Season of Planting — Distances and Order 

of the Plants — Roads in Plantations, 143 

Sect. 4. Supplementary remarks — Shelter for Deci- 



duous Trees, &c. . . . 150 

CHAPTER Vn. 

Management of Woods, . . .158 

Sect. 1. Pruning, . , . , ib. 

Sect. 2, Thinning, . . . .173 



CHAPTER Vin. 

On the Culture and Management of Oak, , 182 

Sect. 1. Opinion that the soil and climate of Scot- 
land are not calculated for the produc- 
tion of Oak, examined and refuted, ib. 

Sect. 2. On the defects and errors of the common 

method of propagating Oak, . 200 

Sect. 3. New method of rearing Oak described, 220 



XIV CONTENTS. 

Page 

Sect. 4. Account of experiments illustrative of the 
advantages of the method of raising Oak, 
explained in the foregoing section, . 238 

Sect. 5. Directions for rearing succession crops of 
Oak, and for the recovery of young Oaks 
in a sickly or unthriving condition, . 247 

CHAPTER IX. 
Plants proper for underwood, and their cul- 
ture, . . . . -.269 

CHAPTER X. 

Succession crops of wood, . , . 291 

CHAPTER XL 

Account of Sir Henry Steuart's method of 

giving immediate effect to wood, . 298 

Selection of subjects, . . . 299 

Preparation of the soil, . . . 305 

Preparation of the trees for removal, . 309 

Taking up and transporting of the trees, . 315 

Planting of the Trees in their new situation, 320 

Treatment of the Trees subsequently to removal, 329 

CHAPTER XIL 

Hints for giving quick effect to wood, in the 

PLEASURE grounds OF GENTLEMEN's SEATS AND 
VILLAS, ..... 337 

Kinds of Trees which it is necessary to introduce, 341 



CONTENTS. XV 

Page 

Choice of Plants, . , . . 343 

Preparation of Ground, . . . 348 

Manm-ing, . . . * , 333 

Planting' the Trees, . . . .337 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Properties and uses of timber, . , 369 

Oak, ..... 372 

Fii, . . , . . . 373 

Ash, ..... 387 

Elm, ..... 388 

Beech, . . . . .389 

Spanish Chestnut, .... 390 
Plane, or Sycamore, . . .391 

Lime-Tree, ..... ib. 
Birch, ..... 392 

Alder, Poplar, and Willow, . . 393 

Horse- Chestnut, Mountain- Ash, Hawthorn, and 

Hazel, ..... 394 
Laburnum and Holly, . . . ib. 

APPENDIX. 

No. I. Additional Remarks on Draining, . 399 

Table skewing the solid contents of 1 running 
Yard of Drain, from 1 foot to 4| feet 
deep, and from 1 to 10 feet broad, . 408 

II. Additional Remarks on Fencing, . . 409 



Xvi CONTENTS. 

No. III. Catalogue of the Medium Prices of Forest 
Trees throughout Scotland for the year 
1830, . . . . 413 

IV. Catalogue of Evergreen and Flowering Shrubs, 
adapted for Underwood, with their Me- 
dium Prices throughout Scotland, at the 
ages proper for removing them from the 
Nursery, for the year 1830, . . 418 

V. Tables for Measuring Timber, and Stone 
Dikes, and for ascertaining the Number of 
Trees to be Planted in an Acre, . 423 

1. For measuring the Number of Solid 

Feet in any Tree, from 1 to 42 Feet 
long, and from 4 to 40 inches in the 
Side of the Square, . . 425 

2. Showing the Length of 1 Rood of 

Stone-dike, from 6 Inches to 10 
Feet in Height, . . 439 

3. Showing the Number of Trees that 

can be planted on an Acre, whe- 
ther the Scotch or the Imperial 
Acre, from 1 Foot to 25 Feet dis- 
tance Plant from Plant, . 440 



3 



ON 



PLANTING, &c. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
T. ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING. 

From the unrivalled extent of its commerce and 
manufactures, as well as from its vast naval esta- 
blishment, this country consumes an immense quan- 
tity of timber. The value of that article annually 
imported into Great Britain and Ireland, is said to 
amount to no less a sum than L. 1,600,000 Sterling* 
We have, at the same time, in Scotland, to say no- 
thing of the other tv^^o kingdoms, upwards of twelve 
millions of acres of waste land, completely useless 
for agricultural purposes, and of extremely little va- 
lue as pasturage, but of which two-thirds, at least, 

* That the statement here made, (namely, that the annual 
import of foreign\imber amounts to £1,600,000), must fall far 
below, instead of exceeding, the truth, the reader will be con- 

A 



2 



INTRODITCTORY REMARKS. 



are well adapted for the production of wood. By 
planting these extensive tracts, our home supply of 
timber might easily be rendered equal to our de- 
mands, and a sum which, according to the present 

vinced by consulting the following table of duties paid on this, 
article in the year 1827 : — 



Pine Timber 



Balks and ufers, .... 


£ 1,096 


Battens and batten-ends> . 


111,013 


Clap and pipe boards, 


834 


Paling, . ..... 


382 


Deals, , . . . . 


634,737 


Deal-ends, ..... 


32,820 


Fire-wood, ..... 


2,913 


Fir quarters, . . . . 


3,520 


Lath-wood, . , . . . 


35,821 


Masts and spars, . < . . 


21,464 


Fir-logs, 8 inches square, and upwards, 


575,452 


£ 1,420,052 


Oak, Elm, Ash. 




Handspikes.. . . . - 


£ 660 


Knees for ships (oak), 


1,262 


Oak plank, - . . = 


22,752 


Oars (ash), .... 


1,222 


Staves (oak), , . = . 


50,139 


Oak logs ..... 


30,102 


Wainscot logs . . , 


13,270 


IJnenumerated timber. 


7,880 



£ 127,287 



ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING. 



3 



rate of wages, would maintain fifty thousand la- 
bourers and their families, or between two and three 
hundred thousand individuals, be retained in the 
comitry, instead of going, as at present, to add to 
the riches and prosperity of other nations. 

It is not, however, by regarding the planting of 
our uncultivated moors as a means of mere pecu- 
niary saving, that its national advantages are most 
conspicuous. A still clearer view of its utility, may 
be seen in the evils that threaten us, if our forests 
are not speedily improved and rendered more exten- 
sive. Their present state is such, that, were our 
foreign intercourse cut off, they would be completely 
exhausted in the course of four or five years. This 
would be the case, even if every sort of timber an- 
swered every purpose alike ; for, of some sorts, we 
have not a sufficient quantity to last half that time. 
Our oak, for instance, would scarce stand out two 
years, supposing us to be, as at present, in a state 
of profound peace, and our navy requiring no addi- 
tion to its strength. One hundred and eighty thou- 
sand cubic feet, or between four and five thousand 
tons of this sort, are consumed in building a ship of 
seventy-four guns. There are not so many ftdl 
grown oak trees in Scotland, as would build two 
ships of this size ; and the royal forests in England 

A 2 



4 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS, 



are said to be in such an exhausted state, as not to 
be able to answer one-fortieth part of the demands 
made upon them. 

How formidable, therefore, would be the ineouTe- 
niencies which we would labour under, were a stop 
put, even for a short period, to our intercourse with 
those countries from which we import the twelve 
millions of cubic feet of timber, which we require 
annually to make up the deficiencies of our native re- 
sources. To say nothing of the shock which such 
an occurrence would give to our commercial ship- 
ping interests, and other civil departments, no means 
would be left us of keeping up our navy, — the chief 
bulwark of our defence. Yet there is surely no im- 
possibility, nor even very great improbability, of our 
being engaged, some time or other, in war with 
those very states, from which our supplies of wood 
are, for the most part, derived. 

But our foreign trade in timber must soon be at- 
tended with great difficulties, thougli we should for 
ever remain in a state of the profoundest peace with 
all surrounding nations. The principal sources 
from which we are furnished with this article at 
present, are Canada and the northern parts of the 
Continent of Europe. From the former we import 
an immense quantity of almost every variety of the 



ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING. 



5 



more useful kinds of timber. It is the supplies 
brought from this quarter that are the chief cause 
of the low rate at which wood has sold during late 
years. Were these supplies dried up, the price of 
the article would rise to a degree that would be se- 
verely felt, in every department in which it is used. 
And, though the forests of America are of vast ex- 
tent, the parts of them which are available to us, 
are confined within limits comparatively narrow, 
and will soon be exhausted. It is only when wood 
is situated in the neighbourhood of navigable rivers, 
or near the sea- coast, that the inhabitants of Ca- 
nada can derive any advantage from cutting it down 
for exportation. In a country where there are no 
roads, and where wages are high, wood cannot be 
brought from any considerable distance inland, but 
at an enormous expense. The carriage of a log 
thirty or forty miles overland, in such circumstances, 
would thrice exceed in cost its voyage of three thou- 
sand miles across the Atlantic ; and the price of 
wood in this country would require to be more than 
double what it is at present, to leave any profit at 
all to the exporter. Now, the banks of the navi- 
gable rivers are the very situations, where colonists, 
for obvious reasons, prefer to settle ; and, as the po- 
pulation increases, the woods must, by some means 



6 Introductory remarks. 



or other, be cleared away. Hence, it is no uncom- 
mon thing for thousands of acres of it to be con- 
sumed by fire* in a single season, for the purpose of 

* The method of burning, pursued in British America, for 
the purpose of clearing the land, often consumes far beyond the 
limits intended by those who practise it. Whether the dread- 
ful conflagration, which took place at Miramichi in 1825, pro- 
ceeded from this, or some other cause, does not seem to be well 
ascertained ; but it furnishes a striking example of the mis- 
chief that may be done by fire among growing wood, and may 
be quoted as a warning against tampering with that element in 
the neighbourhood of plantations, — a practice to which many 
people in Scotland are too much addicted, on occasions of heath 
and furze burning. The following is an account of the above 
mentioned conflagration, from Macgregor's " Sketches of the 
Maritime Colonies of British America — 

" In October 1825, upwards of a hundred miles of the coun- 
try, on the north side of Miramichi river, became a scene of 
the most dreadful conflagration that has perhaps ever occurred 
in the history of the world. In Europe, we can scarcely form 
a conception of the fury and rapidity with which the fires rage 
through the American forests during a dry hot season ; at 
which time the underwood, decayed vegetable substances, fallen 
branches, bark, and withered trees, are as inflammable as a to- 
tal absence of moisture can render them. When these tremen- 
dous fires are once in motion, or, at least, when the flames ex- 
tend over a few miles of the forest, the surrounding air be- 
comes highly rarified, and the wind naturally increases to a 
hurricane. It appears that the woods had been on both sides: 



ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING. 



7 



preparing the ground for cultivation. In the course 
of forty or fifty years, therefore, it may be as un- 
common to import wood from the British settle- 
ments in North America, as at present it is to bring 
the same commodity from the United States, 

It would appear, then, that the cultivation of 
wood at home, and the planting of our lands not 
appropriated to agriculture, are objects of no small 
importance, considered in a national view. The 
private advantages to be derived by the proprietors 
of land, from a proper attention to the same depart- 
ment of rural economy, may be rendered no less 
conspicuous. 

of the north-west branch, partially on lire for some time, but 
not to an alarming extent, until the 7th of October, when it 
came on to blow furiously from the north-west, and the inhabi- 
tants on the banks of the river were suddenly alarmed by a tre- 
mendous roaring in the woods, resembling the incessant rolling 
of thunder ; while, at the same time, the atmosphere became 
thickly darkened with smoke. They had scarcely time to as- 
certain the cause of this phenomenon, before all the surround- 
ing woods appeared in one vast blaze, the flames ascending 
more than a hundred feet above the tops of the loftiest trees, 
and the fire, like a gulf in flames, rolling forward with incon- 
ceivable celerity. In less than an hour Dougiastown and 
Newcastle were enveloped in one vast blaze, and many of the 
wretched inhabitants, unable to eycape, perished in the midst 
i)f this terrible fire." 



8 



INTKODUCTORY llEMARKS. 



The uncultivated grounds, in this part of the 
country at least, are, in their present state, of ex- 
tremely little value. On an average, they are not 
worth above a shilling per acre, as pasturage either 
for black cattle or sheep, nor do they yield more to 
their proprietors. By turning them into wood- 
land, however, their value, taking the best of them 
with the worst, might be increased at least a hun- 
dred-fold. An acre of land which is dry, and in its 
natural state covered with thriving heath, though 
it have no higher marks of fertility than appear in 
the production of this hardy plant, will bring six 
hundred Scots firs or larches to such a degree of ma- 
turity in sixty years, that they will be worth, on an 
average, ten shillings each, or three hundred pounds 
Sterling in whole. This sum, divided by the age 
of the trees, gives a rent of five pounds annually for 
the land. Nothing will be to deduct from this for 
the expense of planting, inclosing, and manage- 
ment, as three or four thousand trees being at first 
put into the groimd, those cut down from time to 
time, in order to reduce the plantation to the ne- 
cessary thinness, will do more than return the mo- 
ney laid out with full interest. Supposing none of 
the thinnings taken out the first five and twenty 
years to be worth any thing, and that there are at 



ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING. 



9 



that time four Imndred more than the numher 
which will have room to stand till they reach their 
full size, and that these four hundred being cut 
during the next ten years, sell at sixpence each, one 
with another, their price will amount to ten pounds, 
a sum more than double what will be necessary 
to clear all the expenses laid out on the plantation 
from first to last. 

The above calculation is intended for land that 
is neither of the best nor worst kind that we meet 
with in our moors, but of a medium quality ; and 
it is designedly made so as to fall below, rather than 
exceed the truth. Where the soil is of a quality 
adapted for the more valuable kinds of timber, or 
even fertile enough to bring firs to their maximum 
size, much greater profits will be returned*. As 
much of this superior quality will at least be found 
in our waste-lands, as will make up for the defi- 
ciencies of the worst kinds of soil, and bring the 
average profits of planting to the above mentioned 
standard, the prices of timber being the same as 
they are at present. 

But if we increase the extent of our forests, it is 

* ReturiiH will often be as high as £ 10, £ 15, and £ 20 an- 
nually. 



10 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



often said, far beyond the boundaries which they 
now occupy, there will be a much larger supply of 
wood in the market than at present is the case, and 
the price of the article must of necessity fall. Sup- 
posing this to be true, it would still be a very weak 
argument, when used, as it commonly is, to dis- 
suade from planting. Were timber reduced to one- 
fifth part of its present value, and gave but one in- 
stead of five pounds for the annual rent of an ^cre 
of ground, the profits of raising it on our waste 
lands would still be immense, if these lands in their 
natural state are not worth, on the whole, more than 
one shilling per acre annually. To suppose, how- 
ever, that the price of wood will ever in this country 
be depressed so low, is a most absurd hypothesis. 
Before the extent of our fiUl grown plantations can 
be increased in any considerable degree, allowing 
that planting should be henceforth carried on with 
a spirit imparalleled at any former period, fifty or 
sixty years mvist intervene. By that time our Ame- 
rican supplies will, in all probability, have fallen off 
so much as to leave a void in the market, which 
will afford ample room for the increase of our own 
produce. 

But there are other advantages to be derived from_ 
planting, besides the profits that arise from the sale 



ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING. 



11 



of the trees. It is a very common objection to the 
cultivation of wood, that it encroaches on the extent 
of our pastures, and thereby has a tendency to di- 
minish the numbers of our cattle. Were this true, 
it would have no weight as an argument, as we have 
already proved that the waste lands of this country 
are infinitely more profitable when employed in 
raising wood than in raising live stock. Nothing, 
however, can be more false. For twenty or thirty 
years after a piece of ground is planted, indeed, cat- 
tle must be entirely excluded, as, if admitted, they 
would utterly destroy the young trees. But, du- 
ring this period, the pasturage is undergoing a very 
great amelioration. As the trees grow up, the 
heath, which affords little nourishment, is gradual- 
ly eradicated, and its place supplied by a tender 
natural grass, that makes excellent food for cattle. 
The pasturage thus becomes, at least, three times 
more valuable than it was before, at the same time 
that it has the advantage of being so well sheltered, 
that cattle may be turned abroad upon it much ear- 
lier in spring, and kept on it later in autumn, than 
the cold will permit in the open fields. In the shel- 
ter of a wood, indeed, lean stock may be sent abroad 
at every season of the year, without sustaining the 
smallest injury. 



12 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



Planting may even be used as a means of prepar- 
ing uncultivated land for agricultural improvement. 
It may seem a very paradoxical fact, but it is never- 
theless true, that w^ood, instead of impoverishing the 
ground on which it is produced, enriches it. There 
is very little of our waste land, that, if trenched or 
ploughed, will carry even a moderate crop of grain, 
unless it receive a considerable quantity of manure. 
After bearing timber, however, the contrary is found 
to be true. Every one who has seen old wood- 
lands brought into cultivation must be aware of 
this, though to others the assertion will, no doubt, 
appear groundless. For my own part, I have seen 
the fact, as it is here stated, so clearly exemplified, 
that I consider it to be established as firmly as ex- 
perience can establish any thing. Instead, however, 
of detailing the particulars of any of the cases that 
have fallen under my own observation, in confirma- 
tion of the point, I subjoin the following instance, 
an account of which was furnished me by a person, 
on whose correctness I can depend. 

On a rising ground, not far from the village of 
Ellon, a piece of ground, of a dry gravelly nature, 
which had been lately cleared of a crop of full-grown 
Scots firs, was trenched in a very partial and im- 
perfect manner, the roots of the trees being scarcely 



ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING. 



13 



eradicated. It was then sown with oats, without 
receiving either lime, dung, or manvu*e of any other 
description, yet the crop was so luxuriant that a 
great part of it lodged. The following spring the 
ground w^as again sown with the same species of 
grain, without receiving any enrichment, and, when 
harvest arrived, the crop was unequalled by that of 
the richest fields, in a neighbourhood which is gene- 
rally considered as fertile. The experiment was 
tried a third time, still without manure, and the 
return was again considerably above an average. 
The soil, as has already been remarked, was dry and 
gravelly, and far from possessing any natural quali- 
ties that could have been the cause of such extraor- 
dinary productiveness. When planted, it had been 
covered with heath, and, in that state, had not been 
superior to those waste lands which we occasionally 
see improved at a vast expence, and which will pro- 
duce no kind of crop till they receive a great quan- 
tity of manure. 

Those who have never had an opportunity of see- 
ing old woodlands brought into cultivation, will 
scarce credit what has now been advanced. That the 
soil should be enriched by the production of wood, 
when the experience of ages has proved that it is 
always exhausted by other crops, will seem to them 



14 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



a paradox of the most extravagant kind. If such 
readers, however, will be at the trouble to give a 
little attention to the following suggestions, the fact 
may appear to them much less unaccountable. 

Trees draw their nourishment from a much great- 
er depth than any of the grasses, roots, or different 
kinds of grain raised by the agriculturist. Most of 
the latter derive the whole of their subsistence from 
the part of the soil that lies within a few inches of 
the surface; but the former, from the superior 
strength and magnitude of their roots, are enabled 
to penetrate much farther, and extract food from 
the very rock which forms the substratum of a great 
proportion both of our cultivated and uncultivated 
grounds. This, though it does not account for 
lands being positively enriched by wood, makes it, 
at the same time, far less surprising that trees should 
grow to a large size, and yet not exhaust the upper 
part of the soil in so great a degree as most of the 
crops cultivated by the farmer. 

There is another circumstance which gives ground 
in wood a great advantage over that in tillage, 
which is, that the leaves of the trees are suffered to 
decay and rot where they fall, and, by this means, 
an annual addition is made to the depth of the ve- 
getable mould. Now, the leaves of a tree may be 



ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING. 



15 



considered as bearing the same proportion to the 
trunk and branches, in respect of the nourishment 
which they require, as the straw of corn bears to the 
grain. But the manure which cultivated land re- 
ceives is, in general, little more than the straw 
which grows on it, after it has served for food or lit- 
ter to cattle. Ground in wood, then, actually re- 
ceives, in the annual fall of the leaves, as much en- 
richment as the farmer bestows on his land under 
tillage. 

Ground employed in agriculture is exposed, at 
almost every season of the year, to the full action of 
the atmosphere, and in the drought and heat of 
summer much of its strength is evaporated. In land 
covered with wood the case is entirely different ; as, 
from the shade afforded by the leaves and branches, 
very little evaporation takes place. This, then, is 
another reason that serves, in some measure at least, 
to explain the seemingly paradoxical fact in ques- 
tion. For, that evaporation has a very powerful 
tendency to exhaust land, by drawing off and dissi- 
pating the more volatile part of the matter, which 
assists in the process of vegetation, there can be no 
doubt, when we consider that any kind of dung may 
be deprived of the greater part of its strength by 
being long exposed to a dry atmosphere. Nor is it 



16 



TNTROnUCTOKY REMARKS. 



merely by preserving its own original substance, tbat 
land in wood has the advantage of cultivated ground. 
Whatever is extracted from the latter, in the form 
of vapour, falls again, when condensed, in the shape 
of rain or dew ; but, instead of descending wholly 
on the same spots from whence it rose, it is, of 
course, diffused over the whole space which the 
clouds containing it may happen to cover, and woods; 
and moors have as good a chance of receiving it, on 
its return to the earth, as the ground in tillage. 
The part of it which falls, either on the cultivated 
fields, or the naked wastes, may be again evaporated 
before it has had time to be productive of any bene-, 
fit, but the portion of it which the woodlands im- 
bibe, is retained to enrich the soil ; for, the umbrage 
excluding the rays of the sun, there is no possibility 
of its being extracted a second time. Land covered 
with trees, therefore, while it never loses any thing, 
receives, with every fall of rain or of dew, a tribute 
from the riches of the cultivated part of the country. 
The advantage derived from this source is greater 
than will be credited by those who are not aware 
how much of the substances proper for vegetable 
nutriment, are exhaled from the land in a gaseous 
state, during the dry season of the year. 

But the principal way in which wood becomes in- 

2 



ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING. 17 

stmmental in enriching land still remains to be 
noticed. When trees attain a certain size, they at- 
tract multitudes of birds, which build their nests 
and seek shelter among the branches. The dung 
of these animals is the very richest kind of manure 
which can be applied to land, and possesses, at least, 
three times the strength of that commonly used in 
agriculture. The quantity of it produced during 
the long series of years which trees require to reach 
maturity, is, especially where large colonies of crows 
take up their abode, very considerable, and must 
have a powerful influence in improving and ferti- 
lizing the soil. Though scarce connected with our 
subject, it may not be improper to remark here, that, 
in trenching old woodlands, for the purpose of bring- 
ing them under cultivation, what was formerly the 
surface should still be kept uppermost, which may 
be done by a very simple contrivance, otherwise the 
part of the soil enriched in this manner will be bu- 
ried too deep for the crop to reach it. 

I am aware it may be objected to all this, that 
trees in hedge-rows about cultivated fields, are so far 
from enriching land, that they render it very un- 
productive for several feet on each side of them, as 
many a farmer knows by dear-bought experience. 

B 



18 



INTRODUCTOUY REMARKS. 



But we must recollect, that when trees are planted 
in single hedge-rows, they but very imperfectly ex- 
clude the rays of the sun, and cannot prevent eva- 
poration — that their leaves, instead of lying where 
they fall, are scattered in all directions — and that 
they allure few or no birds, either to build their 
nests or take up their nightly habitation among their 
branches. Besides, the sterility of land near hedge- 
rows proceeds not wholly from its exhaustion, but 
partly from the drip and shade of the trees, partly 
from the soil being rendered boss or hollow by the 
roots, and partly from the latter making it impossi- 
ble to plough so deep as would be necessary 

* I ought not to omit here to mention among the causes why 
ground is improved by producing wood, — the minuteness into 
which its particles are divided by the roots and their Jihres. On 
taking up a young tree, or even a gooseberry-bush, and shaking 
the earth from its roots, we find the mould that falls from it as 
completely reduced to powder, as if it had been passed through 
a fine sieve. Now, the fact seems undoubted, that land is 
much increased in fertility, by being brought to this state. 
TuLL, the inventor of drill husbandry, ascribed so much to 
pulverization, as to assert, that it answered of itself every pur- 
pose of manure. This was undoubtedly carrying a favourite 
idea to an extravagant length ; but the common practice of agri- 
culture clearly shows, that the fruitfulness of the soil is pro- 
moted, in no ordinary degree, by the comminution of its parts. 



ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING. 19 



But, to dismiss a topic which has, perhaps, been 
insisted on too long, the cultivation of wood is sub- 
servient to agriculture in a way different, either 
from improving the pastures or enriching the soil. 
Considerable quantities of wood are required in farm- 
ing, and when a proprietor has to build houses or 
offices on a farm, he will find it a great saving 
to have wood fit for the purpose on his own estate. 
To say nothing of the price of the material itself, 
the carriage of it, when purchased at a distance, is 
always inconvenient as well as expensive ; and in- 
terferes with the stated work, both of men and cat- 
tle employed in agriculture, to a degree that is not 
only highly vexatious, but productive, at some sea- 
sons, of no inconsiderable loss. There are, besides, 
a number of minor uses for which wood is absolute- 
ly necessary in farming, and for these, on account of 

Hence, one of the advantages of fallowing, and of exposing 
land, especially when of a stiff quality^ to the winter frost. 
But; whatever improvement ground may receive from pulveri- 
zation, it receives in the highest degree by bearing a crop of 
trees, the roots and fibres of which separate the parts in a far 
more perfect manner, than any art could accomplish. Those 
who wish to see the advantages of pulverization fully ex- 
plained and demonstrated, may consult Sir Henry Steuart's 
work on giving immediate effect to wood- 

B 2 



20 



TNTKODUCTOKY REMARKS. 



tear and wear, fresh supplies of it are often required. 
Such, not to mention agricultural implements, are 
divisions between stalls for cattle, temporary inclo- 
sures, folds for sheep, foundations for corn-stacks, 
and those contrivances for rendering them hollow, 
which are of so great utility in wet or in hot har- 
vests. These things may appear frivolous to some 
readers, but farmers, who must carry materials for 
such purposes ten or fifteen miles, as in many places 
they are at present under the necessity of doing, 
would think it no trivial convenience to have them 
in their immediate neighbourhood. 

In those districts of the country which are remote 
from sea-ports, and where the peat-mosseS are in an 
exhausted state, the cultivation of wood is of the 
greatest utility as a means of supplying the inhabi- 
tants with fuel. A scarcity of this indispensable 
article, is one of the severest privations that can be 
felt, and to render it cheap and plentiful, where it 
was formerly dear, is one of the greatest of improve- 
ments. 

The planting and cultivation of wood tends, in a 
high degree, to beautify the country, and improve 
natural scenery. Persons of taste, and those who 
can see utility in every thing that is productive of 
mental pleasure, will deem this no contemptible ad-- 



ADVANTAGES OF PLANTING. 



21 



'vantage. But as other writers have nearly ex- 
hausted this topic, it is unnecessary for me to en- 
large upon it, especially as this article has already 
swelled out far heyond the limits I at first intended 
it to occupy. 

After all that has been said on the advantages of 
planting, there is one objection occasionally made 
against it, which some will think, or affect to think, 
still unanswered, namely, that it is a species of im- 
provement from which its author can derive no be- 
nefit, as trees require longer to come to maturity 
than the brief space usually allotted to human life. 
Many, however, have lived till the trees which they 
have themselves planted, were fit for most of the 
purposes to which timber is applicable ; and every 
one who plants before he is fifty years old, may rea- 
sonably hope to see his plantations in a state of such 
advancement, as to be not only in the highest de- 
gree ornamental to his estate, but as likewise to pro- 
mise that his immediate successor may derive from 
them no small accession to his income. Planting 
may, in fact, be considered as one of the surest me- 
thods by which a proprietor of land can enrich his 
descendants, and increase the opulence of his family 
in future years. To those, indeed, who are so con- 
centrated in self as to be wholly indiflferent abou 



22 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS 



the interests of posterity, this argument will have 
no weight ; but it is to be hoped that such persons 
are extremely few in number, and that it would be 
scarce worth while to attempt converting them to 
more liberal sentiments, supposing it possible. 



( 2S ) 



II. ERRORS GENERALLY COMMITTED IN THE 
CULTIVATION OF WOOD. 

Frequent opportunities will occur of pointing 
out what seems to be erroneous in the common me- 
thods of cultivating wood, as we proceed with the 
work. It may not, however, be improper to give a 
kind of synopsis, or connected view of the more im» 
portant errors with which these methods are charge- 
able, as part of our introductory matter, that they 
may the more prominently meet the attention of 
the reader. 

One of the most fatal of these errors is, when we 
plant without being sufficiently careful to adapt the 
trees to the soil, or, in other words, when we do not 
studiously enough select such species as the land is 
best qualified to bring to perfection. This mistake 
is perhaps more general than any other, and has 
been the source of much loss and disappointment. 
Nothing is more common than to see trees, which 



24 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



are proper only for moist soils, placed in the most 
parched situations, and those which nature has 
adapted for dry ground alone, planted in swamps 
and morasses. Those species that would flourish 
on a light soil, are often absurdly stationed in the 
most tenacious clays, where they can make little 
progress ; while those that would have attained a 
large size in stiff land, are planted in gravel or sandy 
loam, as if for the express purpose of making them 
dwarfish, unsightly, and entirely worthless. Plant- 
ers in fact seem, in many cases, to believe, that 
every soil is alike favourable to every kind of tree ; 
and, therefore, that they may, without scruple, hu- 
mour their own taste, caprice, or convenience, in se- 
lecting the species, be the quality of the land what 
it will. It is from their proceeding on this absurd 
principle, that we so frequently see extensive tracts 
of land, containing sometimes hundreds of acres, 
planted with the same varieties throughout, though 
the soil, instead of being all of one kind, be of many 
different qualities. Nor is it uncommon in such 
cases, for as many varieties of plants to be used, as 
there are variations in the nature of the soil. The 
error consists, in putting an equal proportion of 
each sort into every part of the ground alike, instead 



ERRORS IN CULTIVATION OF WOOD. 25 



of confining the several species respectively, to those 
parts where the soil is adapted for their production. 
By this means it often happens, that many of the 
plants go off, or die, in a year or two after they are 
put into the ground, which makes it necessary to 
fill their places with fresh ones, thereby greatly in- 
creasing the expense, at the first outset, to say no- 
thing of the loss that is incurred, by the plantation 
being in the end much less valuable than it other- 
wise would have been. It is true, indeed, that se- 
veral different kinds of trees may be often planted 
in the same soil, with equal or nearly equal advan- 
tage. Thus any land that is proper for the Scots 
fir, will be found to answer well with the larch ; 
the birch may be planted successfully along vdth the 
spruce ; and the same thing holds in a variety of 
other instances. It is equally true, however, that 
there are many soils capable of bringing the larch 
to a large size, in which the Scots fir wiU scarce 
grow at all, and that the birch will become a fine 
tree, in situations where the spruce will never ex- 
ceed the dimensions of a mere shrub. Nothing is 
therefore more essential to success in planting, than 
a proper adaptation of the trees to the soil. 

Another very common error, in attempts to rear 



26 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



timber, is a wrong or defective mode of cultivation. 
As many planters seem to be of opinion tliat every 
kind of soil is equally adequate for tlie production 
of every kind of trees, so they appear to think the 
same culture is equally appropriate for all. Hence 
the most different species are often treated in pre- 
cisely the same manner, no allowance at all being 
made for the peculiarities of constitution which na- 
ture has assigned to each. If a fir thrives with a 
certain mode of treatment, it is inferred as a matter 
of course, that an ash, an elm, or any other variety, 
will succeed as well under similar management ; nor 
is the culture generally blamed, when the event 
proves contrary to what had been anticipated. Firs 
are found to succeed well when they are removed 
from the nursery to their final destination, at two 
years of age ; and in districts where they have been 
nearly exclusively cultivated, if at any time it hap- 
pen that a few deciduous trees, of the more valua- 
ble kinds, be planted, they are sure to be taken 
from the ground where they have been raised from 
the seed, at the same age, without inquiry being 
once made, whether such usage be consistent, or in- 
consistent, with the nature of the plants. In places, 
on the contrary, where deciduous trees have been 



EllRORS IN CULTIVATION OF WOOD. 



27 



most cultivated, and where long experience has 
taught that the greater part of them ought to re- 
main at least four or five years in the nursery, it is 
customary to treat firs in a manner precisely similar, 
without taking into consideration any of the circum- 
stances in which these sorts differ from one another. 
A still more striking example of improper culture 
exists in the common method of treating the oak, — 
a method which has made that tree one of the rarest 
productions of our forests. 

Planting is often carried on in a much more ex- 
pensive plan than is in any degree necessary. It is 
frequently executed in England, and even in the 
south of Scotland, at as high a rate as from six to 
twelve pounds per acre. This arises partly from 
expending much useless labour in preparing the 
ground, partly from making use of plants of too 
large a size, and partly from the adoption of impro- 
per methods of putting them into the ground. By 
following the plan recommended in the succeeding 
part of this work, firs, and all the tribes that can be 
removed from the nursery, when they are two years 
old, may be planted as low as eighteen shillings 
per acre, or even lower ; while those species that re- 
quire to be of a greater size and age, before they 
can be transported to their final destination, may 



^8 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



be propagated to any extent, at an expense of from 
one to two pounds per acre, exclusive of enclosing 
the ground. 

The pruning and thinning of wood are often, es- 
pecially in the northern counties, sadly neglected. 
This is an error of no small importance, as it may 
cause a plantation to be worth less than half what 
it might have been under different management. 
Bad, however, as is the total omission of these ope- 
rations, it is far from being so pernicious as the per- 
formance of them on wrong principles, which too 
frequently happens. Not to prune or thin a wood, 
when either is requisite, is like leaving a sick per- 
son without medical aid ; but to apply these pro- 
cesses in an erroneous manner, is to prescribe such 
nostrums to the patient as will serve only to aggra- 
vate his disease. 

Considerable mischief has been done of late years 
to the interests of arboriculture in Scotland, by a 
too close attention having been paid to the maxims 
of certain English writers, or of persons to whatever 
part of the island they originally belong, whose 
practical knowledge has been gathered, for the most 
part, south of the Tweed. It is not to be denied, 
indeed, that some of them have given us many use- 
ful hints with regard to the management of the trees 



ERKORS IN CULTIVATION OF WOOD. 29 



most commonly cultivated in England, such as the 
elm, beech, sycamore, and, in general, all the hard 
wooded kinds, to the rearing of which much great- 
er attention is there paid than has ever been done 
in Scotland. But with regard to the culture of firs, 
these writers have fallen into gross mistakes, which, 
perhaps, is what might he expected from the com- 
paratively few opportunities which most parts of 
England afford for becoming acquainted vdth the 
nature of this class of trees. We accordingly find 
some of those who have spoken most sensibly with 
regard to the management of every other kind of tree, 
gravely recommending that firs be pruned, and en- 
forcing the direction in the strongest terms that 
can be applied to such a purpose. A maxim more 
pregnant with ruin to our fir plantations than this, 
supposing it generally acted upon, could hardly be 
expressed in words. Yet it has already been put in 
practice in too many instances, even in this country, 
where pruning is so often neglected in cases where 
it is really necessary. That the mischief has not 
spread further than it has yet done, we have, per- 
haps, to thank that unwillingness to lay out any 
expense on plantations, which is so prevalent in 
Scotland ; and we have thus another exemplification 
of the adage — " That there is no evil which is not 



30 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



productive of some good." Many of the writers in 
question seem not even to know what kind of soil is 
most proper for the various sorts of trees. One of the 
most respectable of them, Pontey, tells us that the 
spruce will thrive well in dry land, meaning, that it 
will attain a large size in such a situation, — an as- 
sertion which will not be found correct in one out of 
ten thousand cases. To every general rule there 
are some exceptions, and a tall spruce may be occa- 
sionally found in very dry ground, as a pretty large 
Scots fir will sometimes occur in a marsh. Some 
anomalous case of this kind it may have been that 
has deceived Mr Pontey, or, more probably, he has 
been imposed on, by having seen in land of the qua- 
lity he describes, some plantation or other of spruce, 
below twenty years of age, which had a thriving 
look ; for, till near that period, the tree will seem 
to flourish in the very driest soils ; but its lower 
branches will then begin to decay, its growth will 
be arrested, and its appearance, in the course of a 
few years, will be such as effectually to dissipate 
every hope of its ever attaining the size of useful 
timber. When such mistaken notions as these ap- 
pear in works which are widely circulated, they can- 
not fail to mislead, and prove highly mischievous. 
Even the raising of firs from seed in the nursery, 



ERRORS IN CULTIVATION OF WOOD. 



31 



seems to be but very imperfectly understood in the 
southern part of the island. In Loudon's Encyclo- 
paedia of Gardening, — a work which contains a vast 
mass of general information on the subjects of which 
it treats, as well as many useful practical directions, 
we are told that the seeds of the spruce, larch, and 
Scots fir, should be covered half an inch deep. If 
this be the general practice in England, it serves, 
in some measure, to explain, why so many seed- 
ling firs are imported annually into that country, 
from a latitude so far north as Aberdeen *, where a 

* Some apology may perhaps be requisite for so often quot- 
ing examples from Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, as is done in the 
following pages, as there may be some people in the south, 
who are of opinion, that little can be learned respecting the 
culture of trees from that quarter. I may state, therefore, 
(and the fact is mentioned, I believe, in Loudon's " Encyclo- 
paedia of Gardening," article Aberdeenshire), that planting has 
been carried on here to a greater extent, during the last thirty 
years, than in any other district of equal size in Great Britain, 
It is farther to be noted, that the finest pine forests now re- 
maining in the island, are those belonging to the Earls of 
Fife and Aboyne, in that county ; and, that the cheapest 
and most successful method of planting firs ever known, origi- 
nated in Aberdeenshire. With regard to the culture of hard 
wood, I claim no pre-eminence for the Aberdonians ; on the 
contrary, I am willing to allow, that, in this department, they 
are rather behind some of their neighbours. 



32 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



depth of a quarter of an inch of light earth is • 
deemed an amply sufficient covering for the seeds 
of any of the above mentioned species. A fir, in 
coming up, is among the weakest of plants, and to 
put the seed deeper in the earth than is barely ne- 
cessary to make it germinate, is a sure way to pre- 
vent its offspring from ever seeing the light ; espe- 
cially, if the ground has the least tendency to bind 
or grow hard. The seeds of every kind of trees, in- 
deed, ought to be covered much less sparingly, in 
proportion to their size, than those of kitchen vege- 
tables ; though in sowing the former, the practice of 
the kitchen garden is often absurdly adopted. 

In giving directions for laying out a nursery, 
Loudon recommends that earth should be forced^. 

As to tlie Aberdeen nurseries, they are now rather less exten- 
sive than they formerly were, owing to considerable opposition 
having started up of late years in the neighbourhood of towns 
still farther north ; but they maintain their character as to 
the hardiness and general excellence of the plants they pro- 
duce. 

* I have here given the sense of Mr Loudon's words in the 
technical language used among gardeners in Scotland. When 
mould is brought from a distance, to improve or alter the charac- 
ter of the soil of any piece of ground, this is called forcing of 
earth. I loiow of no case in which this practice is necessary in 



ERRORS IN CUL,TIVATION OF WOOD. 



33 



as it is termed, in order to obtain soil exactly to 
suit every species of trees that it may be necessary 
to raise. This is another English nostrum, the 
chief use of which seems to be to create expense, a 
characteristic which, it is hoped, will ever keep it 
from being much admired in this frugal land. To 
adapt the plants to the quality of the land, when 
we are placing them where they are intended final- 
ly to remain, is indeed a matter of very great im- 
portance, and, without paying due attention to it, 
we need not expect fine timber. But any kind of 
trees may be easily brought to the greatest size to 
which it is necessary to bring them in the nursery, 
although the soil be not precisely of that quality 

converting corn land of ordinary quality into a nursery, except- 
ing when it happens to be too stiff for raising seedling firs. 
Then, and then only, it may be necessary to bring a mixture 
of more friable mould from some other quarter. But scrupu- 
lously to form the soil so as to be in exact accordance with the 
nature of every plant, that it may be necessary to raise in it, is, 
in the first place, to discourage the propagation of trees, by en- 
creasing the expense ; and, secondly, to transgress against that 
fundamental rule in arboriculture, namely, that young trees 
should be brought up in nursery as hardy as possible. To 
force earth, will be found, in general, equivalent to forcing the 
plants, for the advocates of the practice always mean to enrich, 
not to reduce, the soil by means of it. 

C 



S4> 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



which is most congenial to their nature, and it does 
not therefore appear that any very great advantage 
can be gained by preparing ground for this purpose, 
in the elaborate way above mentioned. In the 
north here, we find no difficulty in raising all the 
kinds of trees which are naturalized in Great Bri- 
tain, till they are of a sufficient size to be trans- 
ported to the moors, in land where the surface is not 
more than nine or ten inches distant from a subsoil 
of gravelly sand, and our plants are such as not to 
be despised even in the English market, to which 
no inconsiderable quantities of them are annually 
exported. 

This freedom with the sentiments of other wri- 
ters, proceeds not from any pleasure which the au- 
thor has in criticising and finding fault, but from a 
firm conviction, that what he blames is really errone- 
ous, and of a pernicious tendency. He wishes not 
to depreciate the merits of any of the popular works 
that have of late years made their appearance on 
the same subject, on which he now ventures to give 
his opinion, as he is convinced that, on many points, 
most of them may be consulted with advantage. 
But he conceives it to be the duty of every one, who 
undertakes to write on a practical subject, to point 



ERRORS IN CCTI.TIVATION OF WOOD. 35 



out the errors of his predecessors, in so far as he has 
experience on his side. Were this not allowable, 
indeed, no end at all can be answered by writing on 
a topic which has been previously handled by others« 
But it is time to draw these preliminary remarks 
to a conclusion, and proceed to other topics. 



c 2 



( ^6 ) 



CHAPTER I. 

BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS KINDS OF TREES, 
WHOSE CULTURE IS DESCRIBED IN THIS WORK. 

SCOTS FIR. 

One of the trees most commonly to be met with 
in Scotland, is that species of Pinus which takes its 
name from the country, viz. the Scots Fir*. This 
tree is a native of the British Islands, to which it is 
common with all the Northern Regions of Europe 
and Asia, being one of those plants which will 
grow in almost any degree of cold, short of per- 
petual snow. On soils of a fertile character it is 
short lived, but on more barren land, such as we find 
in mountainous districts, it attains an age of at least 
two centuries. The excellence of its timber is in 
proportion to the slowness of its growth, and to its 
age ; it being always found of inferior quality, when 
produtied on rich land, or when cut before it is fifty 
or sixty years old. 

Till very lately, there was considered to be only 
one variety of the Scots fir, but an opinion has re- 

* Pinus scotica of Thouin ; P. sylvestris of Linnaeus. 



SCOTS FIR. 



37 



cently been propagated, that there are, in Scotland, 
two distinct varieties, at least, of this tree, one the 
produce of our ancient natural forests, now to be 
found only in the Highlands ; and another, an al- 
leged intruder from Canada, of a very inferior de- 
scription, and at present exclusively cultivated in the 
Lowland districts of the country. Notwithstanding 
the high authority from which this opinion origi- 
nally comes, (it having been first broached in an able 
treatise on Planting, in the Quarterly Review, which 
treatise has been universally ascribed to Sir Walter 
Scott), I cannot help stating doubts as to the con- 
clusiveness of the arguments brought in support of it. 

In the first place, Pursh, the author of the Ame- 
rican Flora, and all other botanists, deny that the 
Pinus sylvestris, or our Scots fir, exists in Canada, 
or in any part of America. That it does so, seems 
therefore entirely a gratuitous assumption. 

In the second place, and waving this formidable 
objection, it is affirmed that this Canadian variety 
was introduced so late as half a century ago. Now, 
granting that the tree which we now cultivate 
in the Lowlands, under the name of the Scots fir, 
did originally come from that part of the world, 
there seem to be insuperable difficulties in the sup- 
position that its introduction was so recent. Either 



38 



SCOTS FIK. 



the true kind must still be very common in that 
part of the country where it is alleged to be extinct, 
or seed of the spurious kind must have been regu- 
larly imported till a very late date. For it is plain, 
that, until the trees that grew from the cargo first 
imported began to bear cones, all the Scots fir-seed 
sown in the nurseries must have been received from 
the same quarter. For the first sixteen or twenty 
years of the half century, therefore, our nurserymen 
must have been in the practice of commissioning all 
their Scots fir-seed from Canada, and a considerable 
quantity of it, for at least ten years later ; for many 
more than the first year's plantations of the spuri- 
ous breed, must have been in a seed-bearing state 
before a sufHcient home supply of the article could 
be obtained. It follows from this, that many of our 
nurserymen now living must have been acquainted 
with this practice at the time it was common, and 
must now remember it- But though I have had 
intercourse with many very intelligent individuals 
in that line, and some of them of more than thirty 
years standing, I could never discover that any of 
them had so much as heard of such a practice in 
their own days, or in those of their predecessors of 
the same profession. This misnamed Scots fir, there- 
fore, must either have been introduced at a much 



SCOTS FIR. 



39 



earlier period than half a century ago, or there must 
still be plantations of the true variety, in every dis- 
trict of Scotland. Now, there is considerable diffi- 
culty in believing the former part of the dilemma, 
because at a period when there wap no great taste for 
planting, it is rather improbable that any Scotsman 
would have been at the pains of fetching across the 
Atlantic the seed of a tree so like one that grew 
every where in his own country, that he felt himself 
under the necessity of calling it by the same name, 
not to mention, that, if we make the date of intro- 
duction much earlier than fifty years ago, an impro- 
bability likewise arises from the little intercourse 
we had with Canada, before it belonged to Great 
Britain. If, on the other hand, the second part of 
the proposition is acquiesced in, it is as good as al- 
lowing that we have but one sort of the tree, from 
whatever part of the world seed of it may have 
been brought ; — for that our plantations formed by 
art are all of the same kind, who ever doubted, or 
can doubt ? 

It is farther asserted that the Highland fir, which 
is the true species, presents a quite different aspect 
from this foreign variety ; that it is a far nobler 
tree, growing with a large spreading top, and put- 
ting forth gigantic branches, and that the quality 



40 



SCOTS FIR. 



of its timber, as well as the colour and the length 
of its leaves or spines, are materially different from 
the same characteristics in the intruder. As to the 
alleged disparity in the top and branches, it is easi- 
ly accounted for, supposing the Highland and the 
Lowland firs to be members of the same native 
family, and lineally descended from one original 
stock, without foreign mixture or adulteration. In 
natural forests, the trees generally stand at much 
greater distances from one another than in planta- 
tions formed by art. That the former, therefore, 
should have more spreading and larger branches, 
is just the result of this very circumstance ; for 
these characteristics in individuals of the same 
species will, other things being equal, be always 
found in exact proportion to the quantity of air and 
light admitted to each. When a Scots fir, even of 
this alleged foreign species, is planted in a single 
row, or by itself, it never fails to have both large 
branches and a spreading top, in comparison of what 
it possesses when it grows in a thicket ; and the 
same is often the case on the outside of a large 
plantation, where, in one direction at least, there is 
no exclusion either of light or air. That the greater 
poverty of soil, in the districts where our natural 
forests are to be found, will fully account for the 



SCOTS FIR. 



41 



superiority of their timber, to that which grows in 
the comparatively rich land of the lower parts of 
the country, any one will allow, who has ever had 
the opportunity of comparing the qualities of fir- 
wood which has grown in two different spots, the 
one poorer, the other richer, in relation to one ano- 
ther. As for the difference in the colour of the 
spines, which are said to be of a lighter hue in the 
natural than in the planted fir, it seems to admit of 
explanation, from what is often seen to take place 
in the nursery. Of two plots sown from the same 
parcel of seed, the plants of the one will have a yel- 
lowish tinge, while those of the other are of the deep- 
est green ; and a difference either in the soil or in 
the quantity of manure, is found sufficient to cause 
the discrepancy. As to the disparity in length of 
the spines, dissimilarity in exposure to the light and 
air may perhaps account for it. 

I may have omitted some of the characteristics 
in which the planted and natural trees are said by 
the author of the essay in question, to differ from 
one another, as I write from memory, having ne- 
glected to take any notes when I read it more than 
twelve months ago ; and I wish the reader to take 
notice that the remarks I have now made are rather 
the offspring of my doubt than conviction, my ob- 



42 



THE LARCH, 



ject in stating them being merely to draw his atten- 
tion to a question, the speedy determination of 
which is of very considerable importance. If it be 
true that the fir we now generally cultivate is in 
reality of a spurious and inferior breed, whether ori- 
ginating in Canada or at home, no time should be 
lost in exterminating it from our nurseries 



THE LARCH. 

The tree most generally found in our fir-planta- 
tions, next to the Scots fir, is the Larch. Unlike 
tlie rest of its tribe with which we are familiar, this 
tree casts all its leaves every winter. These are of a 
beautiful light green, and give the tree a very lively 
appearance, especially when in contrast with the 
darker and somewhat melancholy hue of the Scots fir. 
The blossoms are of a fine purple tint, and appear 
early in spring. The figure of the larch is ta- 
pering, and has something of the formality which 
belongs more or less to all the pine tribe. It was 

* So long ago as 1811, the late eminent Mr George Don 
of Forfar pointed out tlie great superiority of a particular varie- 
ty of the Scots-lir, which he distinguished by the name of 
horizontal variety, from the disposition of its branches. — Me- 
moirs of Cakd. Her/, Soc^ voi. i. p. 124. 



THE SPRUCE. 



43 



first imported into Britain not quite two centuries 
ago, from some of the mountainous districts in Italy, 
where it is very plentiful. It is said also to abound 
in many of the southern parts of Russia. The first 
larches known in Scotland were a couple of seedling 
plants sent from London by the Duke of Atholl in 
1727, and for some time kept in a greenhouse at 
Dunkeld. One of these original larches, now an 
enormous tree, still remains in the pleasure-grounds 
there, close by the ducal palace, and may be regard- 
ed as the progenitor of all the larches in North Bri- 
tain. 

Among the Tyrolese and Dalmatian Alps, as we 
are told, the larch grows to a stupendous height. 
There are said to be beams of it, in some of the 
houses in Venice, 120 feet long. The trees from 
which these w^ere cut must have been at least 140 
feet high. In many plantations in Perthshire 
larches are to be found of 100 feet in height, and of 
proportionable girth. The larch is a very quick 
grower, and the timber of it is good, though cut 
young. When planted on very rich soil, the heart 
of the tree on being cut is sometimes found hollow. 
Of this I have seen several examples. There is but 
one sort cultivated in our plantations. 



1 



44 



THE SILVER FIR. 



THj: SPRUCE. 

The Spruce is not originally a native of Great Bri- 
tain more than the larch, nor does it appear to have 
been earlier introduced than the last mentioned tree. 
The species called the Common Spruce is said to 
be of Norwegian origin, and in its native country 
it rises to an amazing height. Here it is not often 
found above fifty feet high. Being an evergreen, it 
has a very pleasing effect in winter, so long as its 
lower branches remain unwithered. There are se- 
veral American species, as the White, and the 
Black, so named from the colour of their bark, and 
the Hemlock Spruce. The two first are pretty com- 
mon in our nurseries, and seem to thrive in the same 
kind of land as the Norwegian or Common Spruce. 
It is this last species that the reader is to under- 
stand as chiefly intended, as often as the Spruce is 
mentioned throughout the work, 

THE SILVER FIR. 

The Silver Fir is less common than the spruce. It 
is likewise a foreigner, and it is believed was first 
brought to this country from the Levant, or the 
south of Europe. If it comes from the Levant, 
it must grow there on high mountains, for it is as 



THE OAK. 



45 



hardy as the spruce ; though, from its having been 
first cultivated in gardens as an ornamental ever- 
green, it is often described as being of a delicate 
constitution. It is a beautiful tree, especially when 
young. It receives its name from two stripes of a 
silvery tint on the lower side of its dark-green 
leaves. 

BALM OF GILEAD. 

The Balm of Gilead Fir is an American. Its 
leaves are of a yellowish-green, and its buds have an 
agreeable scent, — whence its name. It is not of 
great account as a timber tree. 

{^Besides the kinds already enumerated, the fol- 
lowing have been recently introduced into our fo- 
rests : the Pinaster, the Stone-pine, the Siberian 
stone-pine, the Cedar of Lebanon, the Weymouth 
pine, and the Corsica pine. 

THE OAK. 

Of the Quercus, there are said to be nearly fifty 
species, some of which are deciduous, and some 
evergreen. It is the common or British oak only, 
the noblest tree of the forest, that is spoken of in 
this volume, which, as every one knows, is a deci- 



46 



THE OAK. 



duous tree, and an original native of our island. 
It is the longest lived, the most robust, and, when 
it rises to its natural size, the most majestic in as- 
pect of all our trees. There is said, hov^ever, to be 
a counterfeit of it in the country, against which 
planters should, if possible, be on their guard. 

" We have here to notice," says a writer in the 
Quarterly Review, " a fact long known to botanists, 
but of which our planters and purveyors of timber 
appear to have had no suspicion — that there are two 
distinct species of the oak in England, the Quetxus 
Eohur and the Quercus sessiliflora ; the former of 
which affords a close- grained, firm, solid timber, 
rarely subject to rot ; the other more loose and 
sappy, very liable to rot, and not half so durable." 
" This second species is supposed to have been in- 
troduced some two or three ages ago from the Con- 
tinent, where the oaks are cliiefiy of this latter 
species, especially in the German forests, the timber 
of which is known to be very worthless. But, what 
is of more importance to us is, that, de facto^ the 
impostor abounds, and is propagated vigorously in 
the New Forest, and other parts of Hampshire ; in 
Norfolk, and in the northern counties, and about 
London ; and there is but too much reason to be- 
lieve, that the numerous complaints that were 



THE ASH. 



47 



heard about our ships being infested with what was 
called improperly enough d?^y rot, were owing to the 
introduction of this species of oak to the naval dock- 
yards, where, we understand, the distinction was not 
even suspected. It may thus be discriminated from 
the true old English oak : The acorn stalks of the 
the Robur are long, and the leaves short, whereas 
the sessiliflora has the stalks short, and the leaves 
long ; the acorns of the former grow singly, or sel- 
dom two on the same footstalk ; those of the latter 
in clusters of two or three, close to the stem of the 
branch." 



THE ASH. 

The Ash is among the most beautiful of our 
trees. It is either a native^ or completely natura- 
lized, and is familiar to every one. There are 
said to be nearly forty species of Fraxinus, but 
we have to do only with the common ash, ex- 
celsior. Among the peculiarities of this tree are the 
following : — The younger it is cut down, the richer 
the soil in which it is planted, and the quicker it 
grows, the more valuable is its timber. The age 
to which it will live is not well ascertained ; but 
it occurs in many places in Scotland as old as a 



48 



THE PLANE. 



century and a lialfj without showing any vestiges of 
decay. 

THE ELM. 

The Elm is another tree indigenous to Britain. 
Fifteen species of Ulmus are enumerated, but those 
most generally known are the broad-leaved Wych- 
Elm, or Scotch Elm, and the English or Small- 
Leaved Elm. The elm is among the most majestic, 
as well as the longest lived, of our trees. It has a 
spreading top, and, when it grows to its natural size, 
has a very grand appearance ; but, when a small tree, 
it has nothing particularly attractive in its look. 
The elm is a quick grower. 

THE PLANE. 

The Plane belongs to the Acer or Maple genus, 
of which there are many species. The species more 
particularly intended in the present volume is the 
Scots Plane-tree, or English Sycamore. Bating a 
degree of stiffness in its branches, it is, perhaps, the 
most beautiful deciduous tree we possess. It grows 
quickly on a favourable soil, and attains a great age 
and size. It is a native of the Continent of Europe, 
but whether it belonged originally to Britain is 
doubted by Sir James Edward Smith. 

1 



THE CHESNUT. 



49 



THE BEECH. 

The Beech is another very beautiful tree, and, in 
favourable soils, attains a great height and thick- 
ness. It has been known in Britain for ages, but 
whether indigenous or not has been disputed. Cer- 
tainly it is not a Scottish native. The Beech is ra- 
ther inferior to the ash, elm, and plane, in quickness 
of growth, and it does not grow in quite so high a 
degree of cold as the oak. The beech, ash, elm, 
and plane, may be considered as belonging to the 
same climate, in respect of the temperature necessary 
for their growth. 

Belonging to the same genus, Fagus, is 

THE CHESNUT. 

The Sweet or Spanish Chesnut is a fine tree, and 
next to the oak as to the value of its timber ; but our 
climate is very nearly the utmost limit to which it 
penetrates northward, though trees of it, of a very 
large size, are to be found in England, and even in 
Scotland, where the soil happens to be very good, and 
well sheltered. Many writers injudiciously recom= 

D 



50 



THE LIME. 



mend the planting of this tree to a greater extent 
than is justified by common sense. It is less hardy 
than the oak, while it does not afford better timber ; 
and it requires richer soil, at the same time that it 
does not, in general, at least with us, attain a larger 
size. What advantage, then, saving that of variety 
alone, can be derived from its culture, which may 
not in a higher degree be derived from the cultiva- 
tion of the oak ? The ehesnut is common, to the 
south of Europe with the temperate parts of Asia. 

What is called the horse-chesnut belongs to a 
very different genus, jEscuIus. It is chiefly culti- 
vated as an ornamental tree, its timber being of a 
very worthless kind. The horse-chesnut has a fine 
spreading top, and grows to a large size. In sum- 
mer, and more especially when in blossom, no tree 
is more beautiful. In winter it has rather a morti- 
fied look. The horse-chesnut is hardy, and is said 
to have been originally brought into Europe from 
the north of Asia. 

the lime. 

The Lime-tree attains a gigantic size on favour- 
able soil. It is scarcely less ornamental than, the 
horse-chesnut, and though it has not so spreading a 



THE ALDEB. 



51 



top as the last mentioned tree, it grows to a loftier 
stature. There are several varieties of it, and the 
broad-leaved and the small-leaved are ranked as dis- 
tinct species by Sir J. E. Smith ; but that called 
the Common Lime is the best. It is a hardy plant* 

THE BIRCH. 

Of the Birch there are two sorts commonly cul- 
tivated in this country, the common and the weeping- 
birch ; both of them, but more especially the latter, 
being very handsome trees, though they do not pos- 
sess the grandeur belonging to some others. The 
birch is a native of Scotland, and of all the northern 
parts of Europe, Asia, and America. It is a very 
hardy tree, and attends the Scots fir in its nearest 
approaches to the pole. 

THE ALDER. 

The Alder is likewise a native of Scotland, and 
extremely hardy. It is generally a diminutive, ill- 
looking tree, but as it will grow on land which almost 
every other species rejects, it deserves indulgence. 
From the colour of the wood, it has been nick-named 
" Scotch Mahogany,'' jtn appellation which, in the 

D 2 



52 



THE WILLOAV. 



mouth of an Englishman, would sound very like an 
ironical reflection on the soil of our country, as if it 
were incapable of producing any thing better of the 
tree kind than this base plant of the bogs. The 
alder is likewise indigenous to England and all other 
northern countries. 



THE WILLOW AND POPLAR. 



Of the Willow tribe there are many species. In 
Scotland, we have the sweet-bay leaved, with a 
broad shining leaf, having an agreeable scent, and 
the sallow, with woolly leaves and greyish bark, 
commonly called " The Saugh." The wood of the 
former kind, which is a slow grower, is the most 
valuable of any of the species. There is a very 
beautiful species, called the Yellow or Golden Wil- 
low, which, in good soil, becomes an elegant tree. 
The white-leaved willow is likewise very handsome, 
and exceeds every other tree we possess in quickness 
of growth. The Bedford willow and the crack wil- 
low also grow to a large size. 

The most valuable kinds of poplar are the Black ; 
the Lombardy, which is often termed the White ; 



HAZEL, HAWTHORN, HOLLY, &C. 



53 



and that more properly called the White, which is 
likewise known by the name of the Silver Poplar. 
These are all from the Continent, or from America. 
The Aspen, or Trembling Poplar, is a native. 

HAZEL, HAWTHORN, HOLLY, &C. 

Besides the kinds of trees already mentioned, 
we will have occasion, in speaking of underwood, to 
mention the Hazel, the Hawthorn, the Holly, and 
several other plants, which partake nearly as much of 
the character of shrubs as of trees. These are all 
natives, and, of course, very hardy. 

Of the trees now enumerated the lime is propa- 
gated by layers ; the willows and poplars are propa- 
gated by cuttings, with the exception of the silver 
or white species, which is commonly increased by 
the same means as the lime ; all the rest generally 
by seeds. 

For land which, in its natural state, produces lit- 
tle besides heath, the proper species are the various 
firs, the birch, and the oak. The ash, elm, &c. re- 
quire a richer soil 



( ) 



CHAPTER II, 



THE NUllSEKY SAVING THE SEEDS OF TllEES. 

As those who plant on an extensive scale may 
sometimes find it convenient to raise their plants 
themselves, or part of them, it becomes necessary, 
in a work like the present, to give some practical 
directions for the laying out and management of a 
nm'sery, so far, at least, as regards the raising from 
the seed of the more common and useful species of 
forest trees. With such directions, therefore, this 
chapter shall be occupied. 

As, in general, trees have ultimately to grow in 
land of a very rugged description, one great object 
of the nurseryman should be to bring up the young 
plants as hardy as possible. In making choice of a 
situation for a nursery, therefore, a very rich soil, 
and close shelter, ought by all means to be avoided. 

2 



THE NURSERY. 



55 



W e see the reverse of this rule exemplified in too 
many of our public nursery- grounds, where the 
plants are forced, by richness of soil and warmth, as 
in a hot-bed, and thereby acquire a delicacy of con- 
stitution which renders them very unfit for the 
bleak moorlands, where the future destiny of most 
of them is cast. We must, however, be on our 
guard against falling into the opposite error. The 
top or brow of a high eminence, for example, liable 
to run dry in summer, and exposed to the unmiti- 
gated violence of every wind that blows, would be 
as improper for the purpose as the richest and most 
sheltered situation. In the latter, the plants would 
grow too delicate; and in the former, it would be near- 
ly impossible to rear seedlings at all. Some kinds of 
trees there are, indeed, which, when once they have 
acquired roots, will grow almost on solid rock, as 
well as in places much more elevated, than any in 
which it would be possible to raise agricultural pro- 
duce. But, in raising plants from the seed, we 
must bear in mind that the roots are to be acquired, 
a process which does not succeed well, where the si- 
tuation is lofty, or the land either extremely hard 
or poor. A nursery, therefore, though the artificial 
shelter of walls and hedges should be avoided, ought 
not to be on very elevated ground ; and though the 



56 



THE NURSERYe 



soil ought not to be one of exuberant fertility, it 
should not, on the other hand, deserve the epithet 
of barren. The land which I would deem best 
adapted for the purpose, is that which, when proper- 
ly cultivated, and, in the general run of seasons, is 
capable of producing what is termed an average, or 
a middling crop of corn. This, indeed, is superior 
to what we see commonly allotted to the growth of 
wood, and it may perhaps be said is too good for a 
nursery ; as, if possible, we ought to remove plants 
from worse to better, rather than from better to 
worse ground. But however just such a sentiment 
may be in theory, we will not find it easy to reduce 
it to practice. Seedlings of the fir tribes, as well as 
of several other species, must attain a certain size, 
in order to enable them to stand the winter. When 
extremely small, they are liable to be drawn up by 
the frost, and rendered completely useless ; and this 
will always be the case in soils of a very inferior na- 
ture. The evil here mentioned may, indeed, be 
avoided, by covering the beds with straw, or some 
similar substance ; but all artifices of this kind are 
attended with more or less damage to the plants, 
which can never be entirely preserved from injury, 
unless they are themselves of a size to keep their 
ground independently of foreign assistance. In 



THE NUllSERY. 



57 



very thin soils, too, the drought in summer is no less 
hostile than the frost in winter, causing the plants 
to go off in thousands soon after they make their 
appearance. 

But it may be said, " were these remarks correct, 
it would follow that we would have no natural 
wood. The seeds that are scattered on the barren 
moors might germinate, but the plants arising from 
them would inevitably perish, instead of growing up 
into majestic trees, as we know actually to be the 
case." The answer to this is easy : A plant spring- 
ing up in a moor is far from being in the same cir- 
cumstances with a seedling in the nursery. The 
former, in the heath that surrounds it, has shelter 
from the wind as well as from the drought and 
frost ; while the latter is exposed by turns to the 
full rigour of all the three. Besides, notwithstand- 
ing the advantages plants rising from the seed 
among heath, have over those in the nursery, we are 
certain that a great number of them, perhaps ninety- 
nine hundredths of the whole, do nevertheless go 
back ; so that the fact upon which the objection is 
founded can never lead to the conclusion, that it is 
practicable to raise seedlings advantageously in 
ground no better in quality than the generality of 
our waste lands. If only 07ie hundredth part of 



58 



THE NURSERY. 



the plants could be saved, the expense of a nursery 
would soon put an end to planting altogether. 

I have said above, that the land which I deem 
best calculated for the purpose of a nursery, is that 
which, when properly cultivated, and, in the gene- 
ral run of seasons, is capable of producing an ave- 
rage crop of corn. This, however, is a very general 
description, serving merely to point out the degree 
of fertility which I think nursery ground should 
neither greatly exceed nor fall below, and may be 
applied with equal propriety to several specific va- 
rieties of soil, as clay, loam and others ; each of 
which may be capable, and no more than capable, of 
producing an average crop of corn of some kind or 
other. All these varieties are not, however, equal- 
ly suitable for our purpose. The proper soil for a 
nursery is a light one. Each species of trees, in- 
deed, has some particular kind of soil, which it pre- 
fers to others ; and, in planting waste land, this fact 
should be attentively regarded. But, in the nur- 
sery, where many different kinds of plants are to be 
raised, it is impossible to put each into the soil 
which they like best ; because, in the extent of a 
few roods or less, we do not generally find varieties. 
There are, however, some sorts of trees, which, when 
they are young especially, will grow more readily 



THE NURSERY. 



59 



ill land differing in quality from that which they 
naturally prefer, than others. Elm, for instance, 
prefers a strong clay soil ; and it is perhaps impos- 
sible to bring this tree to the utmost size which it is 
capable of attaining, in land of a different quality ; 
yet seedling elms may be raised without difficulty in 
ground of the lightest nature ; and if transplanted 
in the same, though their growth may be somewhat 
slower than it would be in other circumstances, the 
additional time which they will require to arrive 
at the stature which it may be necessary they 
should acquire, before being removed to their final 
destination, will not be very considerable. The 
same is true of a number of other species. But 
seedling firs cannot be raised with eminent success, 
excepting in land of a pretty light quality. If the 
surface is apt to bind, many of the plants will never 
be able to pierce it ; and thousands of those that do, 
will go off almost as soon as they make their appear- 
ance. It may be laid down as a general rule, that 
plants which naturally prefer a tenacious soil may 
be cultivated with more success in a light one, than 
those which prefer the latter can be in the former. 
Hence, in selecting a spot for a nursery, if we can- 
not find one containing all the varieties of land best 
adapted for each kind of plants we intend to raise, — 
and this can seldom be found, — our choice ought to 



60 



THE NURSERY, 



fall on one adapted for firs, as the nearest approxi- 
mation we can make towards suiting all descrip- 
tions. 

It is hardly possible to raise a full crop of seed- 
ling spruce, birch or alder, in land of that degree of 
dryness which is most proper for the Scotch fir and 
the larch. If possible, therefore, the nursery should 
contain a portion of moist land, meaning by this 
term, not that degree of wetness which consists in 
swampiness, or in the water appearing above the 
surface even in winter, but what is generally under- 
stood by the epithet damp. But, if no single piece 
of ground, of the requisite extent, and possessing 
this qualification, can be found, we have no other 
alternative but either to content ourselves with the 
more slender crops of the above mentioned species, 
which may be raised without it, or have two sepa- 
rate nurseries, the one calculated for plants which 
prefer a moist soil, and the other for those of a dif- 
ferent nature. This expedient, notwithstanding its 
inconvenience, professional nurserymen sometimes 
find it advantageous to adopt. 

A proper situation, or situations, being made 
choice of, the next work will be to prepare the 
ground for its intended purpose. The labour of this 
operation will depend on the previous state of the 
land. If it contain many perennial weeds, such as 



THE NURSERY. 



61 



couch-grass, crowfoot, wild sorrel, or others equally 
noxious, they must he completely eradicated, else it 
will he in vain to think of raising seedlings of any 
kind. The hest method of cleaning ground in this 
condition, will he to trench and green crop it. The 
trenching should not go deeper than to the suhsoil ; 
and, in performing it, every stone larger than a com- 
mon hen's egg should he picked out and carried 
away. The weeds, instead of being buried, should 
be carefully rooted up by the workmen, as they 
proceed, and thrown upon the surface to dry, for the 
purpose of being burnt. It is impossible to get rid 
of perennial weeds by merely digging them down ; 
any of the above mentioned kinds will reappear, 
though covered with more than a foot of earth. 

The ground, thus prepared, must receive as much 
dung as may be sufficient for producing a full crop 
of turnips, which should be sown at the usual sea- 
son. It will be advisable, likewise, to give it a mo- 
derate quantity of lime, provided it has never got 
any before, or, at least, not for a considerable num- 
ber of years. The turnips must be rigorously 
cleaned ; and 1 had almost forgot to mention, that 
they should be sown, not in horse drills, as is usual- 
ly done by farmers, but in the broadcast way ; as 
the former method causes the dung to be unequally 



62 



THE NURSERY. 



distributed in the ground, while it makes the sur- 
face uneven, and thus creates an extra degree of la- 
bour afterwards. It is also proper to remark, that 
potatoes should never be chosen as a green crop, in 
preparing land for a nursery. There is scarcely a 
possibility of getting them clean out of the ground ; 
and those that remain prove the most destructive of 
all weeds. The turnips should be removed by the 
end of November, and the ground thrown up in 
ridges, to be the better exposed to the action of the 
frost. 

When the spot pitched upon happens to be al- 
ready perfectly free from perennial weeds, a great 
part of the process now detailed will be unneces- 
sary. Ridging up in autumn to a good depth, and 
gathering out the stones, will be all the preparation 
required till the time of sowing. 

The above remarks embrace all that occurs to me 
as necessary to be said with respect to making choice 
of a situation for a nursery, and preparing the ground 
for that purpose. I shall now give some directions 
for its management afterwards, arranging them, for 
the sake of perspicuity, under the heads of Manuring, 
Rotation of Crops, Sowing, Transplanting, Propa- 
gation by Cuttings and Layers, Weeding and Prun- 
ing- 



THE NURSERY. 



63 



MANURING. 



The same reasons that forbid us to place a nur- 
sery in a soil so barren, as mere theory would 
teach us to be necessary for the purpose of ren- 
dering the plants hardy, will not permit us en- 
tirely to discard manure. Supposing the land of 
the requisite strength at first, repeated cropping will 
at length render it unable to bring the plants to the 
size necessary for their standing the winter ; and the 
application of dung is the only means we have of 
supplying the defect. It must, however, be given 
very sparingly, and never in greater quantity than 
is sufficient for promoting the end in view. In ge- 
neral, it is only ground in which we intend to raise 
seedlings that will ever require it. When plants 
have been removed from the seed-bed to the nur- 
sery-line, they are no longer in danger of being 
thrown out of the ground by frost ; and the poorer 
the land is, the better will they be qualified for 
their future and final destination. Great poverty 
of soil will, indeed, make them grow more slowly 
than they would do in stronger land, and we will, of 
course, have longer to wait till they are of any given 
size ; but this loss of time at the outset will be 



64 



THE NURSERY. 



more tliaii made up by their progress after they are 
transported to the moors. It ought to be considered 
as a rule, therefore, having few or no exceptions, 
that ground in which we intend to transplant from 
the seed-bed ought not to receive dung, or manure 
of any kind. 

Perhaps the best sort of manure for seedlings is 
wood-ashes, kept free from any foreign admixture ; 
and next to them coal-ashes, in a similar state. 
They may be laid on, either before the ground is 
ridged in autumn, or previous to its being dug 
for the seed in spring. When excitement, rather 
than additional strength, is required, a little lime 
may be used with advantage; but this manure 
should not be repeated oftener than once in seven 
years. 



ROTATION OF CROPS. 

On this subject, a very few remarks will suffice. 
In agriculture, as well as in the kitchen garden, it 
is found necessary to vary the crops, so that the 
same one may not be many successive years in the 
same ground ; but, in the nursery, it is generally 
eligible to follow the reverse of this plan. Nur- 

1 



SOWING. 



65 



serymeil find by experience, that seedlings, especial- 
ly of the fir tribes, succeed best after the ground is 
seasoned, as they term it ; that is, after it has borne 
seedlings of some kind or other before. It is quite 
unnecessary, therefore, or rather it would be impro- 
per, to introduce green crops into the nursery by 
way of relieving the grounds 



SOWING. 



The sowing of firs is an operation which requires 
considerable care and delicacy. The following is a 
sketch of the method in which it is generally per- 
formed : The winter ridges being levelled down^ the 
ground is dug anew, and carefully broken and 
smoothed with the rake. It is then divided into 
beds of about four feet wide, with alleys between of 
about eight inches. The latter are defined by 
stretching the line, placing a foot on each side of it, 
and then shuffling along, so as to make a continu- 
ous path. A cofflng, as it is, in some places, tech- 
nically termed, is then taken off. This operation, 
which is necessary for the covering of the seeds, 
consists in pushing off with the head of a rake, its 
teeth being inverted, as much earth from the bed as 

E 



m 



THE NURSERY. 



is necessary for the purpose just mentioued. The 
earth, thus pushed off, must be made to lie in an 
extremely even ridge on each side of the bed, so as 
to occupy one half of each alley ; the other being- 
left clear for passing and repassing, as often as may 
be necessary, till the work be completed. The cof- 
fing being taken off, the bed is now ready for the 
seed, which must be sprinkled very evenly over it, 
the sower standing in the unoccupied part of the al- 
ley. A light wooden roller must then be passed 
along the bed, to prevent the seeds from being driven 
in heaps, when they are covered. After this, the 
cofRng is drawn on with the same instrument used 
in taking it off ; and, in doing so, great care must 
be used to spread the earth equally, so that it may 
be no deeper in one part than in another. The next 
bed is then treated in the same manner as the pre- 
ceding, and so on till the whole are gone over. The 
line is afterwards stretched, and each alley neatly 
hollowed out with the spade to the depth of about 
half an inch, the earth being evenly spread upon 
the beds. The seeds of larches, Scots firs, and 
spruce, should not be covered more than a quarter 
of an inch thick ; nor those of tlie silver fir, and 
Balm of Gilead, more than half an inch ; and to 
these depths respectively the coffing must be pro- 



SOWING. 



67 



portioned. None of them should be sown earlier 
than the middle of April, as the young plants are 
so tender that a very slight frost destroys them. No 
rule that can be given will be sufficient to direct an 
inexperienced person as to the thickness of sowing 
them ; for among them all, but among those of the 
larch especially, many of the seeds never grow. 
When the plants appear above ground, they should 
not perhaps be less than an inch asunder. In some 
nurseries, we see them confined to less than half of 
this room ; but the plants are thereby drawn up 
weak, and greatly injured. 

The ground where firs are sown must be carefully 
protected from the ravages of birds, not only before 
the plants are up, but some time after ; for as they 
carry the lobes of the seeds on their tops, when they 
newly rise, the birds, in taking the one, pull the 
radicle up also. 

The mode of sowing the seeds of most other trees, 
is substantially the same a« what has now been de- 
scribed, with the exception that few of them require 
the ground to be so finely raked, or to be treated 
with so much delicacy, as those of firs. A few cur=- 
sory remarks, therefore, regarding the time of sow- 
ing, and one or two other circumstances, will suffice 
respecting them. 

E 2 



68 



THE NURSERY. 



The ash and the plane may be sown in March, 
and then- seeds should be covered from half an inch 
to three quarters of an inch deep. The seeds of the 
former require to be two seasons in the ground be- 
fore they germinate. It is proper, therefore, before 
sowing them in the nursery, to keep them in a 
heap, covered with earth, for a twelvemonth pre- 
vious. 

The sweet-chesnut and the horse-chesnut may be 
sown at the same season as the last. They should 
be covered an inch deep. I might have mentioned 
the oak, as requiring similar treatment ; but it, as 
we will have afterwards occasion to shew, ought ne- 
ver to be sown in the nursery at alk 

The beech, being extremely subject to injury from 
frost, when it newly comes up, should not be sown 
earlier than April. Though its seeds are of a con- 
siderable size, they should not be covered deeper 
than half an inch. 

The seeds of ehn may be either sown in June, 
when they are gathered from the trees, in which 
case part of them will come up immediately, and 
the remainder, consisting of the greater number, 
next spring ; or they may be kept dry till the 
March following, and sown then. They should be 
covered between a quarter of an inch and half an 
inch deep. 



TRANSPLANTING. 69 

The birch requires rather a peculiar mode of treat- 
ment. Its seeds must be either trodden in with the 
feet, or rolled with a heavy stone-roller. As they 
must not be covered above a tenth of an inch deep, 
the hollowing out of the alleys, without any coffing, 
produces as much earth as is necessary for the pur- 
pose. In pretty moist land, I have seen birch-seed 
come up very well without any covering at all. The 
proper season for sowing them is about the latter 
end of April. 

The alder should be slightly covered, like the 
birch, and sown about the same time. 

The berries of the mountain ash, if sown in au- 
tumn, when they are gathered from the trees, will 
come up partly the spring next ensuing, and partly 
the following one. They may be covered an inch 
deep. 

Laburnums may be sown any time during the 
month of April, and covered to the depth of half an 
inch. 



70 



TRANSPLANTING, 



TRANSPLANTING. 

Some kinds of plants it is proper to remove to 
their final destination, immediately from the seed- 
bed ; others ought to to be transplanted in the nur- 
sery. Of specifying which of these modes of treat- 
ment, however, is best adapted to the several va- 
rieties of plants, better opportunities will occur af- 
terwards. At present, I shall offer only a few ge- 
neral remarks, respecting the season at which trans- 
planting should take place, and the manner in which 
it should be performed. 

In most nurseries, throughout the north of Scot- 
land, transplanting is performed in spring, and this 
season seems to be preferable to autumn, for doing 
the work, as plants put out before winter are often 
loosened, or entirely extracted by the frost. If we 
transplant in spring, however, we must be careful to 
have it done before the plants begin to vegetate, 
otherwise great numbers of them will die. 

There are two modes of transplanting practised 
in the nursery ; in the one the dibble is used, and 
in the other the spade only. This last method is 
in some parts known by the technical denomination 
of sheughing or laying. It is very expeditious. 



TllANSPLANTlNG. 



71 



but as it is allowed on all hands to be injurious to 
the plants *, it merits no farther notice. When we 

* 111 saying that skeugking or laying is " allowed on all 
hands to be injurious to the plants/' I have used too unquali- 
fied terms, as I have found, since this remark was written, that 
there are some who prefer this mode of transplanting to that with 
the dibble. I shall therefore describe the process, and then 
state specifically what appears to be objectionable in it. 

In transplanting according to this method, a strip of ground 
is dug in the direction in which the lines are intended to 
run; and somewhat broader than the first is intended to be, 
from the boundary of the ground. The line is then stretched, 
and a notch made with the spade from the me end to the other, 
and of the requisite depth. This being done, the plants are 
placed with their roots in the notch, at such distances from one 
another as is deemed expedient, nearly in the same inanner in 
which box is usually laid round the walks of a garden. A little 
earth must be drawn on the roots with the hand, as the laying 
proceeds, to keep them steady, and to prevent the wind from 
undoing the work. The whole line being finished, a little 
more earth is laid to the roots with the spade, and the plants 
are then fixed, by pressing this earth firmly down with one foot. 
Another strip of ground is dug somewhat broader than the in- 
terval to be allowed between the lines, care being taken not to 
let any of the earth fall upon the plants, and to level it neatly 
and smoothly, so as to be equal with that behind them. An- 
other notch is then made at the proper distance from the first 
line, and so the work proceeds till the whole be finished. 

Now, what appears objectionable in this method ib- that 



72 



TRANSPLANTING. 



transplant with the dibble, the ground must be pre- 
viously dugt and its surface smoothed with the rake. 
The Hne is then stretched, and the plants are station- 
ed in straight rows. The perfection of this art con- 
sists in proper fixing. If the plants are only loose- 
ly stuck in, we may calculate on their not growing 
as a matter of course. And if we haiig them in the 
hole, as it is termed, that is, close the earth firmly 
about the neck of the plant, which makes it appear 
firm to the touch, W'hile its root is at the same time 
loose, the result will be similar. Doubling of the 
roots is also pernicious, and the hole ought always 
to be made deep enough to contain them straight, 
and at full length. In order to facilitate this, the 
straggling fibres should be pruned off with a sharp 
knife, but the woody part of the root must not be 
touched, otherwise the life of the plant will be en- 
dangered. 

Where there is plenty of land, the plants may 
be put as far asunder as the owner has a mind ; but 

it is next to impossible to give the plants an exactly verti- 
cal position, by means of it ; and lying aslant^ the consequences 
are, that they not only become crooked near the root, but often 
lose their leaders, a circumstance very prejudicial to their fu- 
ture growth. Nurserymen are partial to sheughing, because 
it is more expeditious than planting with the dibble. 



TRANSPLANTING. 



73 



nothing is more pernicious than to have them too 
close to one another. As the distances between 
them ought to vary according to the species, and 
the time they are intended to remain in the nur- 
sery lines, it would be a fatiguing and an endless task 
to state these distances in feet and inches. It may, 
however, be laid down as a general rule, that they 
should never stand nearer to each other than is con- 
sistent with the horizontal branches of each plant, 
when sufficiently pruned, standing clear of those of 
its neighbour. When this is not the case, a proper 
supply of air is not admitted, and in consequence 
the plants are drawn up weak and spoiled 

* Many are of opinion that young trees ought to undergo 
several transplantations, while they remain in the nursery, in 
order that they may be the better furnished with roots. That 
fibres will be multiplied by the repetition of the process, there 
can be no doubt, though, when all things are considered, it 
will perhaps appear that this advantage is attended with dis- 
advantages, which fully counterbalance it. In the first place, 
nearly a year's growth is lost by each removal ; and, secondly, 
the repeated checks which the plant thus receives must have 
very injurious effects on its constitution. Besides, in the soft 
ground of the nursery, and at the age when young trees are, 
or ought to be, removed from it, they never fail to be well pro- 
vided with fibres, independently of art altogether. The repeat- 



74i PllOPAGATlNG BY CUTTINGS AND LAYERS. 



PROPAGATING BY CUTTINGS AND LAYERS. 

The trees commonly propagated by cuttings are the 
poplars, with the exception of one variety mention- 
ed below, and the different kinds of willows. Cut- 
tings may be planted in the month of February or 
earlier. They should be a foot or fifteen inches in 
length, and of the last summer's growth. They 
should be planted in a moist spot, and thrust at 
least four inches into the grovmd, the buds being 
rubbed off to this length to prevent the rising of 
suckers. 

The silver poplar and lime are propagated by 
layers. In order to provide stools for this purpose, 
get as many plants as may be deemed necessary, 
place them in a moist situation, and cut them down 
within three or four inches of the ground. They 
will send forth young shoots, which, in a year or two, 
will be fit for laying, which is executed in the fol- 

ed removals, therefore, which are so highly recommended by 
certain persons, may be regarded as one among many of those 
ingenious artifices, invented for the laudable purpose of render- 
ing the culture of trees as complicated and expensive as possi- 
ble. 



WEEDING. 



75 



lowing manlier. Raise a circular mound of earth 
three or four inches high all round the stool. Bend 
down the branches or shoots, till they come in con- 
tact with this mound, and fix them with hooked 
pegs of wood made for the purpose, so firmly that 
their extremities may assume a nearly vertical 
position. Cover them with earth at the place 
where they are fixed with the peg, and press it 
firmly down. They will require no more trouble, 
till they are rooted and fit to be separated from the 
parent plants, except being kept free from weeds. 



WEEDING. 



This must be sedulously attended to in the nur- 
sery, otherwise every other labour will be in vain. 
The weeding of seedlings, especially of firs, requires 
considerable attention. A careless hand will pull 
up thousands of the plants along wdth the weeds, in 
the course of a single day's labour. The latter should 
be taken when very young, otherwise it will be im- 
possible for the most experienced person to pull 
them out, without doing mischief : Whoever is em- 
ployed in this work must sit or kneel in the alleys^ 
without leaning on the bed with his hands, or other- 



76 



PRUNING. 



wise, as the plants are so brittle that they break 
with the least pressure. Among transplanted lines, 
the hoe may be used, but the weeds in immediate 
contact with the plants, must be pulled out with the 
hand, to prevent the latter from being barked or 
loosened. 



PRUNING. 



Every kind of young trees except firs, which re- 
main for any considerable time in nursery lines, 
should be carefully pruned. As, however, this ope- 
ration should be conducted in the nursery, on pre- 
cisely the same principles as in the forest, with re- 
ference to which, we wdll have afterwards occasion 
to treat the subject at some length, it is unnecessary 
to enter upon it at present. 

In concluding these remarks, it may be proper to 
observe, that, as some of the above operations re- 
quire a considerable degree of manual dexterity, it 
will be necessary for the right execution of them, 
that a person be employed for that purpose, who has 
previously been accustomed to work in the nursery. 



( 77 ) 



SAVING THE SEEDS OF TREES. 

As the preservation of the seed of trees is an ob- 
ject of some importance, where a nursery is kept, and 
attended, in certain cases, with considerable difficul- 
ty, it may not be improper to give a sketch of the 
way in which professional seed-gatherers conduct the 
business. 

The trees whose seeds give the most trouble are 
the fir tribes, especially the larch, the cones of which 
require the application of a high degree of heat, as 
well as much laborious percussion, before they will 
allow the seeds to escape. 

The time for gathering the cones of the larch is 
during the winter months. This part of the process 
is easy, and consists merely in plucking them from 
the trees. It is proper, however, to select the finest 
and most thriving trees for this purpose, to prevent, 
as far as possible, any chance of the species degene- 
rating. The larch begins to bear cones very young, 
and its seed is said then to grow more certainly than 
when the tree is aged. As the gathering proceeds, 
the cones should be laid somewhere out of the reach 
of wet, which, if admitted to them, will tend to 
make the process of taking out the seed more tedious. 



78 SAYING THE SEEDS OF TREES. 

From twenty to twenty-seven bolls of them are ge- 
nerally required to produce a hundred^weight of 
seed. When there is a good crop, and the trees 
yomig, so that little time is lost in climbing, a man 
who is expert at the work will gather half a boll 
a-day. 

After gathering the cones, the next operation is 
to extract the seed. This is a most laborious pro- 
cess, and requires, besides, some skill and a consider- 
able degree of care. For this purpose, it is neces- 
sary to have the use of a kiln, and of a barn with a 
good floor. The kiln must be well heated before 
any of the cones are put on, and to as high a tem- 
perature as may be deemed safe for the seed ; that 
is, so high as to be efficient in taking it out, without 
subjecting it to the danger of being scorched or 
burnt. It is matter of regret that the precise degree 
of heat which is necessary has never been ascertained 
by means of a thermometer ; and this not having 
been done (so far at least as has come to the know 
ledge of the writer of tliese pages), there is no al- 
ternative but to leave the operator to the dictates of 
his own judgment on the point. Perhaps the safest 
plan for an inexperienced person, would be first to 
make an experiment with a few pecks of cones, be- 
fore he risk a greater quantity. If the seed appears, 

1 



SAVING THE SEEDS OF TREES. 



79 



on being beat out, to be in the least degree dis- 
coloured, then the heat has been too great, and 
must be diminished before any more cones be put 
on. If, on the other hand, none of the seed come 
out after the cones, while hot, are subjected to smart 
percussion with a flail, it is plain that the heat has 
either been too mild, or that it has not been applied 
for a sufficient length of time ; and the error must 
be corrected, according to the nature of the case. 

The cones are generally laid upon the kiln to the 
depth of five or six inches ; and a smart heat being- 
kept up, they are allowed to remain for two or three 
hours ; but they must be repeatedly turned during 
that time, in order that they may all receive equal 
justice. When taken off, they are laid on a smooth 
barn floor, and beat violently with flails till they be 
perfectly cold. They are then put upon the kiln a 
second time, care being taken, in the first place, to 
separate from them what seed may have come out, 
by sifting them in a riddle or wide sieve. After 
being again heated for a considerable time, they un- 
dergo another severe beating, which, if it pounds 
and breaks them completely, finishes the most iabo» 
rious part of the operation ; but, if a considerable 
number of them still remain whole, they must again 
be sifted, and put upon the kiln, and subjected a 



80 



SAVING THE SEEDS OF TREES. 



third time to the flail, when taken off. In order 
that the beating may prove efficacious, it is abso- 
lutely necessary that it be commenced as soon as the 
cones are taken off the kiln ; that is, when they are 
hot : and it is of no use to continue it after they 
have become completely cold. Persons who have not 
had much experience, would do well rather to sub- 
ject themselves to the labour of shifting and beating 
four times, than, by keeping the cones too long on 
the kiln at once, run the risk of entirely spoiling 
the seed. In order that no time may be lost, it will 
be advisable to have hands for filling the kiln with 
new cones, and taking care of it, while others are 
employed in beating. If the same hands that beat 
have likewise to fill the kiln, the cones last taken off 
will have time to cool considerably in the interval ; 
and, again, while they are employed in beating, the 
cones on the kiln will suffer for want of attention ; 
while, in the third place, if the kiln be allowed to 
remain empty, so much time is necessarily lost. 

The seed, when taken out, requires to be cleaned. 
This is done either with a wire sieve, made for the 
purpose, or with a riddle, such as is used for giving 
the last dressing to barley, which is the preferable 
implement of the two. The seed being sifted with 
either of these, in a gentle wind, all the larger par- 

2 



SAVING THE SEEDS OF TREES. 81 

tides will be kept, while the dust which passes 
through will be carried off, as the chaff in winnow- 
ing corn. It is customary to give the seeds a sprink- 
ling of w^ater after they are dressed, for the purpose, 
as is said, of restoring the substance they have lost 
in being dried. They may then be spread pretty 
thin in a loft for two or three days, and afterwards 
put into bags. 

The cones of Scots firs are much easier to deal 
with than those of the larch, though, like the lat- 
ter, they require also the application of heat, be- 
fore they will part with their seeds. If the kiln be 
well heated before they are put on, they will seldom 
require the fire to be kept up. A declining heat is 
best for them, as many of the seeds fall out while on 
the kiln, and are very liable to be scorched. One 
beating will suffice, after which the seed must be 
cleaned, and put into bags. 

The seeds of the spruce part with the cone still 
more readily than those of the Scots fir ; and the 
greatest care is requisite, in order to prevent them 
from being injured while on the kiln. It is not un- 
usual to spread mats or pieces of canvas under 
them, to preserve them the more safely from the ef- 
fects of too great heat. One moderate beating will 

F 



SAVING THE SEEDS OF TREES. 



separate them completely, after which, they heing 
cleaned, the operation is finished. 

The kiln most proper for drying fir-cones is one 
floored with brick ; and the best fuel, the husks or 
remains of the old cones themselves. As they, 
however, contain a considerable quantity of resinous 
matter, much caution must be observed in using 
them, otherwise serious accidents will ensue. 1 
have heard of a seed-gatherer who rendered himself 
famous in every district which he visited in the 
way of his profession, by setting kilns on fire. 

On the saving of the seeds of other trees, little 
need be said ; little, in fact, can be said, that is not 
commonly known. The most important point is 
not to gather them till they be thoroughly ripe. 
This will be the case with the keys of the plane, in 
September, and those of the ash in October, though , 
as the latter, as well as the pods of the laburnum, hang 
on the trees long after the leaves have fallen, they 
may be gathered almost at any time during the 
winter months. To know whether the seeds of the 
alder be ripe, cut up the cone with a knife, and if 
they are of a deep brown colour, they may be con- 
sidered as having arrived at a state of maturity. 
October is the month in which they are commonly 
gathered. The seed of the elm is ripened early in 



SAVING TTTE SEEDS OE TREES. 83 

summer, Imt its maturity ought not to be taken for 
granted, till it begin to drop spontaneously off the 
trees. This rule ought to be strictly observed in 
gathering birch-seed, as, if it be taken off the trees a 
fortnight too soon, little of it will grow. It is ge- 
nerally ready about the beginning of harvest. The 
seeds of the beech and oak are seldom saved in Scot- 
land. Every one knows when such seeds as are 
produced in the form of berries are ripe, by their 
colour. 

Seeds may be greatly injured, or rendered entirely 
useless, by being kept in bags, or laid in large heaps, 
when they are newdy gathered. By this means, 
they heat or ferment, — a process which induces rot- 
tenness, and destroys the power of germination. 
Birch-seed especially may be completely spoiled by 
being kept two days in bags, when it is newly col- 
lected. It is necessary, therefore, to spread all seed 
liable to be injured from this cause, on a loft or dry 
earthen floor, as soon as gathered, and to turn it 
once every day, till all its superabundant moisture 
have evaporated. Seeds ought to be kept free from 
damp during winter, but they should not be kept 
where the heat of fire may reach them. To shrivel 
them is in the highest degree injurious, though this 
is a fact that is seldom attended to» 

F 2 



( 84 ) 



CHAPTER IIL 

PURCHASING PLANTS. 

It is only those who plant on an extensive scale^ 
and intend to do so for a series of years, that can be 
expected to have nurseries of their own. Proprie- 
tors, who have only a small extent, which they wish 
to turn into woodland, will, in general, be averse to 
incur the expense of setting a nursery on foot, and 
will rather choose to purchase their plants from 
those who raise them for sale ^. Indeed I am far 

* MoNTEATH has advised the adoption of a middle course, 
namely, that those proprietors who plant extensively, should 
not attempt to raise seedlings, but purchase them from pro- 
fessional nurserymen ; and place them in a succession nursery 
of their own, till they arrive at a proper size for being sent 
abroad to their final destinations. This suggestion is a good 
one, and deserves notice. A proprietor may, in general, pur- 
chase seedlings much cheaper than he can produce them at 
home, while the case is just the reverse with regard to plants 
of a greater age. In raising seedings, much skill and attention 
are requisite, which the professional man can always command 



PURCHASING PLANTS. 



85 



from thinking it so indispensable to the interests of 
planting that proprietors should become their own 
nurserymen, as some would represent it. That 
such a practice would have some advantages pecu- 
liar to itself, there is no reason to doubt ; but I am 
persuaded that these advantages will be found, on 
a fair trial, to be both fewer, and of less import- 
ance, than many would lead us to suppose. Those 
who recommend that every person, who intends 
planting, should raise his plants himself, always 
take it for granted, that our public nurseries are 
universally conducted on wrong principles. This, 
however, is not true In some of them, indeed, 

at a much more reasonable rate than the proprietor. In the 
treatment of plants after they are removed from the seed-bed, 
the rent of the ground in which they are placed is the chief 
source of expense, as any common gardener will be able to ma- 
nage them. Now, in the country, where the estates of all who 
have waste lands to plant universally lie, rent is often below one- 
tenth of what it is in the neighbourhood of large towns, where 
public nurseries are, for the most part, situated. In addition 
to these considerations, the plan here recommended will enable 
the planter to put his young trees in such soil as he may deem 
best adapted to prepare them for their future stations. 

* I know of no reasonable objection that lies against any 
one of the public nurseries in this country, different from what 



86 



PURCHASING PLANTS. 



the plants are raised more delicately than is con- 
sistent with their future thrift ; but this is not the 
case in all, nor perhaps even in the greater number. 
Whoever has skill to select, will find abundance of 
every kind of plants to purchasCj as hardy as it is 
possible to raise them, and those who find it incon- 
venient to have nurseries of their own, have them- 
selves to blame, if their plantations are less thriving 
on that account. 

A general, and a very gross error in purchasing 
plants, is to consider those as best which are the 
largest in proportion to their age. This absurd 
princi23]e of selection makes those nurseries most 
frequented by customers which least deserve to be 
so ; such, namely, as are situated in the richest 
soil, surrounded by the closest shelter, and stimu- 

is involved in the three following points, viz. When the soil is 
too fertile and closely sheltered ; when manure is applied too 
freely ; and when the plants are crowded too thickly together. 
Now, though the nurseries that may be chargeable with all the 
three errors are, no doubt, more numerous than is desirable, I 
believe that they bear but a small proportion, compared with 
the whole ; and I know that many are as free from any of these 
objections as in practice is attainable. If the purchasers of 
plants would only shew a little more discrimination than at 
present they do, the most exceptional)le of our nurseries would 
soon be greatly reformed. 

3 



PURCHASING PLANTS. 



87 



lated by the greatest quantities of manure. It is 
necessary, no doubt, that plants should be of a size 
to qualify them for being removed, and suit them 
to the situations for which they are intended ; but 
if they have attained this size sooner than the due 
time, by being forced, they are in the worst state 
imaginable for growing in a barren moor, or the 
bleak side of a rugged mountain. 

A seedling larch is large enough for being remo- 
ved to any situation to which it is proper to trans- 
fer it, if the part of it above the ground be an inch 
or an inch and a half long ; and if it exceed two 
inches, we may conclude that it has attained this 
extra size, by being forced, and is consequently 
deficient in hardiness. Other circumstances be- 
ing the same, the growth of any plant will vary 
according to the temperature, the wetness or dry- 
ness of the season. But two inches, exclusive of 
the roots, may be regarded as the maximum size to 
which a seedling larch will grow, in land that is not 
too strong, and where the local heat is not rendered 
greater than the general warmth of the air, by close 
shelter. Scots firs of two years old, the age at which 
it is most proper to remove them from the seed-bed^ 
should not exceed two, or at most two inches and a 
half in length, above the surface of the ground 



88 



rUllCHASING PLANTS. 



This species is more injured by being forced in the 
nursery than perhaps any other, and Scots firs that 
are large in proportion to their age, should on no 
account be selected, if we wish our plantations to 
flourish. 

In general we will find, that, as the strength of 
the land, and other circumstances which affect ve- 
getation, are proportioned to the crop in one part of 
a nursery, so will they be in all the other parts of 
it, at least this will be the case where any regard is 
had to consistency. We may, therefore, make any one 
kind of plants a standard for judging of the qualifi- 
cations of all the other kinds raised under the same 
management. Taking, then, one-year old larches, 
or two-year old Scots firs in the seed-bed, as this 
standard, if we find them of a size that bespeaks 
them hardy, we may safely conclude, in general, 
that all the other kinds in the same nursery are 
proportionally so, and vice versa. Hence the inex- 
perienced purchaser may judge with tolerable accu- 
racy of the hardiness of every kind of plants in any 
nursery where there are Scots firs and larches, or 
either of them^ of the respective ages above men- 
tioned, by attending to what is said in the paragraph 
immediately preceding. 

2 



PUllCHASING PLANTS. 



89 



Plants are often much injured, though raised suf- 
ficiently hardy in other respects, hy being too much 
crowded, whether in the seed-bed or in the nursery 
line. When this is the case, many of them grow 
very slowly. It is necessary, therefore, to be care- 
fully on our guard against purchasing such as have 
suffered from this cause. The surest method, that 
1 know, of enabling those who have little experi- 
ence, to ascertain whether plants in the seed-bed are 
too much crowded or not, is to compare such as grow 
on the verge of the alley with those in the interior. 
If the girt or thickness of the latter be equal, or 
nearly so, to that of the former, it may be taken for 
granted that the plants have had sufficient room ; 
but if there be a considerable disparity between 
them in this respect, the opposite conclusion is the 
true one. When plants of any kind are too close 
upon one another, they are drawn up weak, that is, 
with their stems too small in proportion to their 
length, and this is occasioned by the air not being 
admitted in due quantities. The plants, however, 
near the edges of the beds cannot suffer on this ac- 
count ; and, by comparing them with those which 
grow in the middle of it, any person may easily 
judge whether the latter have sustained injury from 
the cause in question. When plants have stood 



90 



PURCHASING PLANTS, 



for several years in nursery lines, and have arrived 
at a considerable height, if they are too much 
crowded, many of their lower branches will be in a 
half decayed or withered condition, or the stems 
will be entirely devoid of branches of any kind, ex- 
cepting within a few inches of the top, even where 
the pruning-knife has never been applied. This is 
a mark so plain that no one can mistake it. 

Care should be taken not to purchase plants that 
betray symptoms of disease. When larches, not 
more than three years old, cast the whole, or even 
the greater part, of their leaves, just when the win- 
ter commences, it is a sure sign that they are in an 
unhealthy state, and that many of them will die in 
the course of next season ; for under this age the 
larch shovild retain a considerable quantity of its 
old leaves till spring. Scots firs may be regarded 
as sickly when the points of their leaves or pins be- 
come withered, or when they change their naturally 
dark colours into a faint yellowish green. Any ves- 
tige of withering on the Spruce, Silver, or Balm of 
Gilead firs is a sure prognostication of approaching 
decay. Any kind of fir whatever that has lost its 
leader may be considered as entirely useless. 

The birch is sometimes infected with a distemper 
which appears in red spots or blotches on the leaves. 



rUllCHASlNG PLANTS. 



91 



This disease generally ends in the death of the 
plants, yet they often retain a lively appearance 
during the whole of the winter after they have been 
attacked by it. In purchasing birch, therefore, it is 
proper to see and bespeak them in summer, when 
it may be ascertained by barely looking at them, 
whether they are in this morbid state or not. I 
should have observed, likewise, that the minute 
white insect, which is so fatal to the larch in plan- 
tations, sometimes, though more rarely, and never 
before the plant has entered its second year, attacks 
it in the nursery. It is proper, therefore, to take 
the same precaution in purchasing larches more than 
one year old, as has just been recommended with 
regard to birches. 

These are all the kinds of forest trees that I have 
observed to be liable to disease of a serious kind in 
the nursery ; or the distempers incident to other 
varieties are not, at least, of that insidious kind 
which make progress, while the plant may seem, to 
the inexperienced eye, in a state of perfect health j 
and thus lead to deception. 

In commissioning plants from such a distance, 
that it is necessary, for the sake of convenience of 
carriage, to pack them up in mats or otherwise, 
strict orders should be given that those which carry 



92 



PURCHASING PLANTS. 



their leaves in winter be taken up when they are 
entirely free from moisture. If they be pulled wet, 
they will heat and get mouldy in the packages, in 
the course of a few days, and good plants are often 
completely spoiled in this manner. Much injury 
is often done, likewise, by letting plants that come 
from a distance be too long out of the ground. The 
nurseryman from whom they are ordered, therefore, 
should get directions not to pull them but as short 
time as possible before there is an opportunity of 
sending them off ; and, as soon as they arrive, in- 
stead of laying them up in a shed, as is often ab- 
surdly done, their roots should be well covered with 
earth, and no more of them exposed at once than 
can be planted in a day. 



( 9S ) 



CHAPTER IV. 

ON THE QUALITIES OF SOIL MOST PROPER FOR THE 
DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF FOREST TREES; WITH 
REMARKS ON ASPECT AND ELEVATION. 

It is evidently a great error, if we plant with a 
view of pecuniary advantage, to put a less valuable 
kind of timber into ground, capable of producing a 
full crop of a more valuable kind. 

There are cases, however, in which we may sus- 
tain an equal, or even a greater loss, by following 
an opposite course ; for, on some lands, we will 
gain most by cultivating the sorts of wood that 
sell lowest when brought to market ; on the same 
principle as the farmer often finds his account 
more in raising a crop of oats than one of wheat. 
Fir- wood, for example, is in general worth less per 
solid foot than ash ; yet there are many soils which 
will produce a quantity of the former so much 
greater than they will do of the latter, as to render 



94 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



fir, almost beyond comparison^ the more eligible 
crop. Land which is proper for Scots fir, is very 
improper for spruce ; and, though the selling price 
of both is nearly on a par, a proprietor will lose at 
least a hundred per cent, by planting either in land 
which is naturally adapted for the other. In order, 
therefore, to secure the greatest possible return of 
profit from a plantation, it is necessary that we 
should form it of such kind of trees, and of such on- 
ly, as agree with the nature of the soil. This is a 
rule, which, either through ignorance or negligence, 
is often grossly violated. Some planters, in the dis- 
tribution of their trees, seem to have been guided 
solely by chance. We often find the fir tribes en- 
cumbering ground, which might have been much 
more profitably filled by the elm, the beech, or the 
oak, and either or all of the last mentioned species 
languishing, and of scarce any value, where the for- 
mer would have been a lucrative crop. The effects 
of this error, attributed to a wrong cause, have, in 
some instances, given rise to a prejudice, that whole 
estates, and large tracts of country, are utterly in- 
capable of producing any kind of wood. Frequent 
failures, for example, in attempting to rear the 
Scots fir, in a soil and climate both eminently unfa- 
vourable to it, but well calculated for the growth of 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



95 



several other species^ have stamped a character of 
this kind on the extensive and fertile district of 
Bnchan, in Aberdeenshire. 

To contribute as much as possible towards the 
prevention of the error in question, I shall point 
out, as far as my experience extends, the kinds of 
soil best adapted for the several varieties of forest 
trees, which are most generally cultivated ; and, in 
order to make the labour of ascertaining the quality 
of waste lands intended to be planted, as easy as 
possible, I shall add, in a subsequent chapter, some 
rules for that purpose, founded on the nature of 
the wild plants which such lands naturally produce. 
Here, as in the other parts of the work, I shall fur- 
nish the reader with the data on which my own 
opinions rest, — that he may, with the greater fa- 
cility, judge with regard to their correctness. 

The most convenient method of treating this part 
of the subject, will be to go over the different species 
of trees, one by one, and I begin with the Scots 
fir. 

This is one of the hardiest trees we possess, and it 
will thrive in very barren situations, provided they 
be dry. Dryness is, in fact, the most indispensable 
requisite that land can possess, in order to produce 
a good crop of Scots fir ; and it is never advisable 
to plant this tree in very moist ground, or where 



96 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



draining is necessary, to carry off the surface water. 
The soil most favourable to it is, perhaps, a sandy 
loam, but it will thrive on light soils in general, on 
a substratum of gravel, or even of solid rock, pro- 
vided there be as much vegetable mould as to per- 
mit it to fix its roots. Gigantic specimens of it are 
to be seen in the district of Braemar, in Aberdeen- 
shire, in situations where its fibres have found no 
better lodgment than the chinks and crevices of 
granite. The finest Scots firs any where to be met 
with, occur in the neighbourhood of the river Dee, 
in the above mentioned county, especially in Mar 
forest, the property of the Earl of Fife ; the forest 
of Glen tanner, the property of the Earl of Aboyne; 
and the woods of Invercauld, belonging to Mr 
Farquharson. In all these places the ground is 
mountainous, wild, and rugged, and the subsoil 
varies from the poorest quality of sandy loam to 
gravel and rock, but in no instance that I recollect 
does it approach to clay. On the banks of the Don, 
a neighbouring river, where the soil, in general, has 
more tenacity, the Scots fir is not found in nearly 
so great perfection. Stiff land, indeed, seems to be 
decidedly hostile to its growth, as we scarce ever 
find it either plentiful, or of large size, in districts 
where clay abounds. It is very impatient of the 
spray of the sea, and hence comparatively few thri- 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL, 



97 



ving woods of it occur on the east coast of Scotland. 
Mountainous regions are its most favourite situa- 
tions, and in these it will thrive at a greater eleva- 
tion than any other species of timber, with the ex- 
ception of the mountain-ash and the birch. On a 
deep rich soil it grows very fast, attains a large size, 
and soon decays. In these circumstances its wood 
is spongy, and of inferior value. But, on such land, 
it is not eligible to plant the Scots fir, whatever 
were the quality of its timber, as there are other 
kinds of trees which will bring higher profits to the 
proprietor. The most important precept that can 
be delivered with regard to this tree, is never to 
plant it either in ivet or in very stiff land. Who- 
ever wishes to see it in its highest perfection, and to 
acquire a knowledge of the soil and situation in 
which it delights, from personal observation, ought 
to visit the forests of Deeside. 

Next to the Scots fir, the forest tree most univer- 
sally cultivated is the Larch. This is also a very 
hardy plant, and it is sure to thrive on any land 
that will answer for the Scots fir. It is, however, 
less delicate in its choice of soil than the latter,^ and 
will grow in a much greater degree of moisture. I 
have seen fine larch trees on very stiff land, and I 
understand there are many such in the neighbour- 

G 



98 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL, 



hood of gentlemen's seats in the Carse of Gowrie^ 
where the soil is deemed as tenacious as any in 
Scotland. This tree is one of the surest growers 
we have in barren soils ; and, where a proprietor is 
in doubt what kind of wood he should plant in any 
piece of tolerably dry waste land, it is a good gene- 
ral rule to put in a considerable proportion of 
larches, or rather to make them the staple of the 
plantation. 

The next most generally cultivated of the fir 
tribes is the Spruce. It is as partial to moist land 
as the Scots fir is to dry ; and, in this particular, 
these two species stand directly opposed to one ano- 
ther. Nothing possibly can be a greater error in 
attempting to rear timber, than to plant spruce in 
ground that has not a very considerable degree of 
moisture. It may, indeed, appear to thrive in a 
dry situation for a few years ; but, by the time it 
reaches ten or twelve feet in height, its lower 
branches will begin to decay, and, after that period, 
it will make little progress, but remain a mere cum- 
berer of the ground, as unsightly as it will be un- 
profitable. If well supplied with moisture, it will 
thrive better on the most indifferent land, than 
without that requisite, it will do on the best of soils. 
At i'ountess wells, within five miles of Aberdeen, 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



99 



there were standing, a few years ago, and probably 
still remain, some spruce trees upwards of fifty feet 
high, and without a single withered branch from 
top to bottom. In shape they presented an exact 
copy of the cones that grew on them ; the branches 
close at the ground, spreading out to a great cir- 
cumference, and every succeeding row diminishing 
somewhat in length till the conical shape was com- 
plete. So thick and close were the boughs, that it 
was impossible to catch a single glimpse of the 
trunks. These beautiful trees grew on what had 
formerly been a perfect morass, the surface water of 
which had been drawn off by opening large ditches. 
The soil was peat moss on a bed of poor clay. I 
may state, in the way of contrast, that I have seen, 
on dry land, where the larch had grown to a ma- 
jestic height, spruce, of the same age, not exceed- 
ing fifteen feet from the point of the leader to the 
ground, every branch, with the exception of two or 
three near the top, being as effectually withered as 
if scorched by fire. Spruce seems to be most par- 
tial to a cold stiff clay ; it is, however, a very hardy 
plant, and not very nice in its choice of soil, provid- 
ed it have enough of sap. It is to be observed, in 
recommending moist land for this tree, that I do 
not mean such as is deluged in winter with stagnant 



100 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



water. This is incompatible with the growth of 
wood of every kind. Before even the most aquatic 
trees will grow in a bog, it is necessary that the sur- 
face-water be drained off. 

The Silver fir and Balm of Gilead will answer 
in the same kinds of land as the spruce. They are 
both very hardy, and great lovers of moisture. 
There are some beautiful silvers at Skene, in Aber- 
deenshire, in a piece of ground where the soil is 
deep peat-moss. They, together with the spruce, 
are invaluable for land of this description, as nei- 
ther the Scots fir nor the larch will thrive in it, 
and it is equally sterile with respect to most of the 
hard-wooded kinds. The above kinds include all 
of the fir tribe (among which I have enumerated 
the larch), which we cultivate largely for the sake of 
their timber. I proceed next to point out the qua- 
lities of soil most proper for deciduous trees. 

Of all this class the Oak deserves the highest con- 
sideration, on account of the value and general use- 
fulness of its timber. The soil in which this tree 
will grow to the largest size is perhaps a strong 
clay. Some very fine specimens of it, both as re- 
gards size and beauty, grow on land which, if I mis- 
take not, is of this quality, in the front of Glammis 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



101 



Castle, in Forfarshire. Throughout the Valley of 
Strath more, the best oaks, as far as my observation 
has reached, occur in the same kind of soil ; and the 
fact, that some of the largest trees of this descrip- 
tion in Scotland are to be found in the Carse of 
Gowrie, seems to confirm the position I have here 
laid down. But, though the oak may require a 
rich clay to bring it to its maximum growth, it is 
by no means a tree that is delicate with regard to 
soil. It thrives well in good loam, and I have seen 
it in a considerable degree of perfection, not only in 
sandy and gravelly, but even in rocky land. It is 
to be found in all these varieties at Inchmarly, 
Blackball, Invercauld, Monalterie, Abergeldie, &c. 
on Deeside. From the quality of the substratums 
on which the remains of oak are often found in 
peat-mosses, we may safely infer that it will attain 
no contemptible size in soil which is of but very in- 
different quality ; and also, that it will bear a con- 
siderable degree of moisture. As this country, in- 
deed, appears at one time, to have been nearly co- 
vered with oak forests, it would seem that it will 
thrive on a greater variety of soils than almost any 
other tree we possess. We may at least assert, 
that, with proper management, it will grow to a size 
fit for many of the purposes to which it is commonly 



i02 ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



applied, in any land well calculated for larcli or 
Scots firs. There are at Careston, in Forfarshire, 
some very thriving plantations of oaks, which have 
arrived at a fair size, on ground so moist as to have 
produced a good crop of spruce. I am aware that 
what I have here advanced concerning this tree, will 
be disputed by many planters, especially in the 
north of Scotland, where an opinion is very common, 
that it is only in some few much favoured situations, 
that plantations of oak will ever be good for any 
thing. Of this opinion I shall have occasion to 
speak at greater length in another place ; at present 
I only remark, that it has had its origin solely, in 
the very inadequate, not to say absurd and prepos- 
terous methods, which have been adhered to in at- 
tempting to propagate the tree in question. To 
explode these methods, and to introduce better in 
their place, were the principal objects which led me 
to undertake the present work ; and, if the plan of 
propagating oak, laid down in the subsequent part 
of this volume, be generally adopted, I feel confi- 
dent, that every complaint about the incapability, 
whether of our soil or climate, to produce it, will 
soon be hushed. In every part of the country, 
the planters of oak have all along proceeded on a 
system which is hostile to its nature ; but, in the 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



103 



northern comities especially, it is generally put into 
the ground in so slovenly a manner, that I do not 
account it matter of half so great wonder, that plan- 
tations of oak should have so often proved abortive, 
as that any of them should have even partially suc- 
ceeded. But to return : As oak is useful for many 
purposes, and therefore in request, even when of di- 
minutive growth ; and as, in addition to the value 
of its wood, the bark brings a high price, so an in- 
different crop of it will often be more profitable 
than a full one of most other kinds of timber. With 
regard to it, consequently, the rule which ought to 
be observed in other cases, namely, to plant such 
kinds of trees as the land will bring to the greatest 
perfection, does not hold good. 

The deciduous trees next in importance to the 
oak are the ash, the elm, the plane, and the beech. 

With regard to the first of these, the AsJi, it is in 
vain to plant it in poor land, or where there is not 
a very considerable depth of vegetable mould. On 
shallow ground, which is apt to run dry in summer, 
it grows extremely slow, and never attains a large, 
or even a respectable size. I have never seen it 
thrive well in peat-moss, or in land that has a ten- 
dency to that quality. It should not be planted in 
rocky or in gravelly soils, as these never furnish suf- 



104 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



ficient nourishment to bring it to any tolerable de- 
gree of perfection. It does not answer well in very 
high situations. Its most favourite soil is a deep 
loam, but it mil thrive well in any rich land, that, 
mthout being wet, is not liable to be parched by 
the summer droughts. 

Hard shallow land is as inimical to the Elm as to 
the ash ; perhaps the former is still more decidedly 
partial to a deep soil than the latter. The element 
in which this tree most delights, seems to be a deep 
rich clay, w4iere the ground is moist, without being 
wet. Having a sufficient depth of earth, it wiU, 
however, succeed well in loam. The principal rule 
to be observed in planting elm, is to avoid shallow 
and dry soils of every description. I do not recol- 
lect having seen any good specimens of it in peat- 
moss. 

The Beech thrives in a greater variety of soils, 
and in more exposed situations, than either of the 
last mentioned trees. A strong loam, or clay, is 
perhaps requisite for bringing it to its utmost per- 
fection, but it often attains no contemptible growth 
in land of a quality much inferior to either of these, 
I have seen it of a good size in a gravelly soil, as 
well as in other situations, where the ash and elm 
w^ere stunted and good for nothing. Gigantic spe- 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



105 



cimens of this tree are to be seen at Brechin Castle, 
the seat of the Honourable William Maule, 
M. P., growing in a very exposed situation, where 
the soil is a sandy loam, or rather inclining to gra- 
vel. The beech ought never to be planted either in 
mossy or in wet ground. 

Any light dry soil, where there is a considerable 
depth of vegetable mould, will answer with the 
Plane. It will, however, grow in good land of a te- 
nacious quality, where there is not too much mois- 
ture. The plane is averse to peat-moss and wet 
land in general. 

The horse-chesnut, the lime, the birch, the alder, 
the poplar, and willow tribes, are kinds whose tim- 
ber is of less value than any of the above mentioned 
kinds. With the exception of the birch and alder, 
they are generally planted for ornament, rather 
than with a view to profit. It will be necessary, 
however, to point out briefly the qualities of soil 
most proper for each. 

The Horse-chesnut and the hime thrive on the 
same kinds of land as the ash and elm. 

The Birch delights in mountainous regions, as is 
evident from its abounding in almost every part of 
the Highlands of Scotland, where any kind of wood 
is to be found. We may consider the same fact as 



106 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



a proof that no ordinary degree of sterility will pre- 
vent it from answering the expectations of the 
planter. From the frequent occurrence of this tree 
on Deeside, and the high perfection it there attains, 
we may conclude that it is partial to light and dry 
soils. But its growth is by no means confined to 
these. We meet with good specimens of it, in all 
the different varieties of clay ; and it will bear a de- 
gree of moisture equal to the spruce. Of all the 
forest trees known in this country, the birch may, 
in fact, be deemed one of the least delicate with re- 
gard to soil. It will grow in loftier situations than 
even the Scotch fir or the larch. 

The Alder is properly a marsh plant. It is not, 
however, so exclusively such, but that it will thrive 
on any but the very driest kinds of land. It will an- 
swer in cold boggy soils, where scarce any thing- 
else will grow, and to such situations it should be 
banished. 

The Willow tribes, though proverbial for their 
love of moisture, will yet most of them answer well 
in land which is not too dry for the elm. Except- 
ing those species, which belonged originally to this 
country, they require a good depth of vegetable 
mould, to bring them to their full growth. A light 

3 



ON QUxVLITY OF SOIL. 



107 



black earth is most suitable for them, but they 
may be planted with success in stiff lands of a good 
quality. Two species have already been mentioned; 
the one with a broad scented leaf, of a shining green 
colour ; the other with woolly leaves, a greyish bark, 
and, in spring, bearing a large catkin. These are 
the kinds which are proper for the sour stiff mo- 
rasses that so often occur in our waste lands. If 
the golden, or the Huntingdon, or any other of the 
finer species of willows, be planted in such situa- 
tions, they will scarce live, much less make any pro- 
gress in growing. 

All the Poplar tribes will thrive in the same qua- 
lity of land with the finer species of willows, or, if 
there be any exception to this, it is, that the white, 
or Lombardy poplar, is less fond of moistui'e than 
the rest, and will attain a good size even where the 
soil deserves the epithet of dry. Unless the aspen, 
which is a native of Scotland, none of them will 
come to perfection, but in a tolerably rich soil. The 
sides of streams, and places where the land is of an 
alluvial nature, are most proper for almost all the 
foreign species of poplar. But the aspen, or quaking 
ash, as it is sometimes called, will thrive on very 
dry and barren land, and at a great elevation. On 
the estate of Abergeldie, there is a hill more than 



108 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



TOO feet in height, at the very summit of which 
there are several very fine aspen trees which seem to 
have grovsrn there naturally. 

It may be proper to add to these remarks the 
two following observations : — Firsts That when 
land has been much enriched by artificial means, 
many trees will thrive in it, that would have never 
done so had it been left in its natural state ; and, 
secondly. That when the soil and subsoil consist of 
strata different in quality from each other, it may 
happen that a tree, which has thriven before its 
roots penetrated to the latter, may decline after- 
wards, and vice versa. 

As to exposure or aspect, it is perhaps of much 
less consequence that particular attention should be 
paid to it in the cultivation of forest trees, than is 
generally supposed. It would at first sight appear 
most reasonable to conclude, that all trees of the 
more delicate species, and those that are liable to be 
injured by spring, or autumnal frosts, would be most 
favourably situated in a south exposure. Observa- 
tion, however, leads us to decide differently from 
this ; and to allow that, if the soil be favourable, 
and the elevation not too great, a north exposure an^ 
swers equally well with a south one. The fact is, 
thatj if the former do not receive the sun's rays so 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



109 



directly, it lias some compensating advantages not 
possessed by the latter. It is less exposed to par- 
tial thaws in winter, which, by causing the snow to 
melt, leave the ground more exposed to the inten- 
sity of the frost ; and is likewise less influenced by 
the violence of the south-west winds, which are often 
so chilling in spring and autumn ; and, by blowing 
during the season of vegetation, do more injury than 
those from the north, which prevail most when the 
sap of vegetables is at rest. Hence we find, that 
the Scots fir is not only of the largest size, but best 
as to quality of timber, in northern aspects ; and 
even that the hard-wooded species, which require a 
higher degree of heat to bring them to maturity, 
grow as quickly, and attain as great a height, in a 
north as in a south exposure, other circumstances 
being equal. 

The elevation of the ground in which we plant is 
a matter of much greater importance than its as- 
pect ; and, with regard to it, the statement of the 
following facts may be useful :— It is well known, 
that, as we ascend in height, the temperature regu- 
larly decreases, and this is the reason that trees, 
which grow at the foot of a high mountain, will not 
thrive at its top. By attending, therefore, to the 
observations of naturalists and travellers, with re- 



110 



ON QUALITV OF SOIL. 



spect to the trees found in regions of various degrees 
of heat or cold, we may form a pretty accurate esti- 
mate of the heights at which they will thrive rela- 
tively to one another. 

Now, we are told that the trees which reach 
nearest to the limit of perpetual snow, and within a 
very few degrees of it, are the Scots fir and the 
birch, reduced, in their nearest approach to this in- 
hospitable region, to the stature of scragged shrubs. 
A degree or two farther south than this utmost 
verge of vegetation, the spruce is found at first in a 
very diminutive state. After it, still farther south, 
succeeds the oak, then the beech, and, last of ail, 
the Spanish chesnut. The ash, elm, lime, &c. be- 
long to the zone of the beech. In like manner we 
are told that, at the foot of the Alps, the chesnut 
flourishes, the beech continues after the former dis- 
appears, and the oak rises to a height where there 
are found no beeches. After the oak itself has va- 
nished, the pine continues diminishing regularly in 
size, till it approaches the boundary of perpetual 
frost. 

These observations furnish us with the elevations 
at which trees will thrive, relatively to one another, 
in all countries ; as to absolute heights, they must, 
of course, vary in different climates. The utmost 



ON QUALITY OF SOIL. 



Ill 



height at which the Scots fir grows in Scotland, even 
of the size of a large shrub, is said to be 2000 feet. 
In most places, however, it does not ascend half so 
far. I should conceive 700 or 800 feet to be the 
greatest altitude to which it attains any where with- 
in twelve miles of the sea-coast. Assuming 900 feet, 
as the medium height attained by it and the birch, 
we may assign 600 feet for the oak and larch, and 400 
for the beech, with the other trees that belong to its 
zone. Even at the extreme points of these eleva- 
tions, we must look in general for nothing but dwar- 
fish scragginess. Wood is said to thrive in Perth- 
shire, at a greater height than any where else in 
Scotland. This may be accounted for, partly by 
the distance from the sea, and partly from the 
mountains, in many places of that county, being 
piled so closely together, as to reflect back the rays 
of the sun upon each other, and afford mutual shel- 
ter. 



( 11^ ) 



CHAPTER V. 

DIRECTIONS FOR ASCERTAINING THE QUALITY OF 
WASTE LAND FROM THE NATURE OF THE WILD 
PLANTS THAT GROW ON IT, 

In the foregoing chapter I have endeavoured to 
describe the qualities of soil best adapted for the va- 
rious kinds of forest trees. The most obvious way 
of ascertaining these qualities, is to inspect the 
ground with the spade or mattock, by which means 
the depth of the vegetable mould and the nature of 
the subsoil may be known. This, however, is a la- 
borious task, as, in any considerable extent of land, 
there would be occasion for a multitude of trials, and, 
after all, those who had not previously formed some 
acquaintance with the nature of soils, would be liable 
to form very wrong conclusions. An easier rule for 
ascertaining the quality of waste land, and one 
which is much less apt to lead into error, may be 

deduced from the character of the wild plants which 

I 



QUALITY OF WASTE I,AND. 113 

naturally grow in it. Different kinds of these in- 
dicate different degrees of fertility or sterility in 
land, with as great precision as different heights of 
the thermometer point out various degrees of heat 
and cold. Nor is it necessary for the ohject of the 
planter that he should be a skilful botanist, and 
know by name, as well as by sight, the immense va- 
riety of wild plants that spring up on our moun- 
tains and in our glens. There are half a dozen 
species, or a fev>^ more, so common as to be in the 
catalogue of every herd-boy ; and, according as one 
or other of these occur, and some of them occur in 
every piece of waste land that produces any thing, 
we may determine with the greatest accuracy and 
readiness what kind of trees we ought to plant. In 
the present chapter, therefore, I shall lay down a few 
rules founded on this principle ; and, I trust, they 
will be so plain and simple, as to render it impossi- 
ble, even for the most inexperienced person, to mis- 
apprehend them. 

The plants which, as being known to every one, 
may be considered as most suitable for my purpose, 
are the grey lichens or moss, the rough benty grass, 
the heath, the furze and broom, the fern, the juniper, 
and a few others, which will be noticed in their 
place. 

H 



114 ON ASCERTAINING THE 



The grey lichen or moss deserves to stand at the 
head of such plants as indicate the most barren 
kinds of soil. Where it is found alone, indeed, it 
denotes a degree of sterility in which no other plant 
can subsist. It is scarce found, however, in a so- 
litary state, but at a great altitude, where the ri- 
gour of the climate conspires with the badness of the 
land to prevent any other plant from vegetating. In 
such situations, it would, of course, be the height of 
folly to plant trees of any kind. When this moss 
grows thickly, as it often does, among heath, the 
soil may be considered a degree better than that in 
which it is found alone ; but still of so inferior a 
quality as to be incapable of bringing trees of any 
kind to a size, that will render them valuable as 
timber. If we plant such land, therefore, all that 
we can expect is bushes, the only use of which will 
be, to take away a portion of bleakness from the 
prospect, or afford an indifferent shelter for game. 
Even to secure these subordinate objects, we must 
plant none but the hardiest species of trees ; such as 
the alder, the birch, the coarser kinds of willows, 
and a few spruce, if the land is wet ; and the larch, 
birch, mountain ash, and Scots fir, if it is dry. 

The coarse benty grass is found only in land, 
very little, if any degree, superior, to that which 



QUALITY OF WASTE LAND. 



115 



produces the grey moss. The species of grass I 
mean, is very different from that known by the ap- 
pellation of bent, which grows in the sand near the 
sea-shore. The sort here alluded to is much narrow- 
er in the leaf than the other, and grows in circular 
knots or patches. This species of bent is scarcely 
ever found by itself, but is generally intermixed 
with heath and other plants. It denotes a stiff, 
poor soil, inclined to wet ; and where it abounds, we 
should scarce plant any thing but the alder, wild 
willow, and spruce intermixed with a few birches. 
Even these hardy sorts will be far from reaching 
maturity in such a soil. 

Dry land, in which the heath is thick and healthy, 
and contains no mixture either of the above men- 
tioned grey moss or benty grass, is capable of pro- 
ducing a good average crop of larch, birch, and Scots 
firs : oaks likewise may be planted in it with success ; 
but it is too poor for the ash, elm, beech, or plane. 
If the heath be here and there intermixed with 
the plant that bears what, in Scotland, is called 
the hlae or blue berry, the English Bilberry, or with 
thriving juniper bushes, the land may be deemed 
still more favourable to the growth of the larch and 
Scots fir, than when the heath, though healthy and 
vigorous, occurs alone. 



116 



ON ASCERTAINING THE 



When stout plants of tlie common broom grow 
abundantly among thriving heath, they fornish an 
unequivocal criterion of superior fertility. In land 
that produces this plant, we may expect the larch 
and the Scots fir to attain a very large size. We 
may also plant in it the oak, if it is situate on a de- 
clivity, and in addition to these, the beech, if it lies 
in a hollow or ravine, with every prospect of suc- 
cess. 

Furze or whin is a much less unequivocal indication 
of the qualities of soil than any of the plants we have 
yet mentioned. It springs up on the best as well 
as the worst of soils, and it is rather from its size 
than its mere presence that we can draw any con- 
clusion as to the quality of the land where we find 
it. When it is dwarfish, and has no large stems or 
branches, although it be, at the same time, green 
and healthy, we may take it for granted that the 
soil is very poor ; but if, on the contrary, the stems 
are large and gigantic, they indicate a quality of 
land not inferior to that which produces broom. 
Furze, however, is on the whole a very uncertain 
criterion by which to judge of soils. 

Wherever we find any of the species of fern or 
broken in pretty large quantities, we may safely con- 
clude that the soil is of the most fertile quality of any 



QUALITY OF WASTE LAND. 



117 



that is to be met with in an uncultivated state. The 
fern indicates a considerable depth of vegetable 
mould * of a quality that may be turned to good 
account in the production of corn ; and it is merely 
from the insulated situation of the spots which pro- 
duce this plant, in our waste land, and their being 
surrounded by large tracts of barren moor, like 
small isles in the middle of the ocean, that they 
have not long since been brought under the domi- 
nion of the plough. In planting, no opportunity 
should be lost of turning such patches to account, 
by filling them with the most valuable kinds of 
wood. When ferns grow on declivities and pretty 
elevated spots, we should plant, as the principal crop, 
the oak, plane, or beech ; when in glens or hollows, 
not only these three varieties may be planted, but 
likewise the ash and elm, both of which will, in 
such situations, attain a very large size ; and if we 
are studious of variety, we may add the Spanish 
chesnut. 

* That is, in glens and hollows ; for on elevated spots the 
fern is frequently found where there is no great depth of ve- 
getable mould. This plant always denotes, however, that 
the mould, korvever shallow, is of a good quality, and that the 
subsoil is of a friendly nature. 



118 



ON ASCERTAINING THE 



On the banks of rivulets where the kinds of grass 
deemed best for pasturage are abundant^ the land 
may be considered as extremely well adapted for 
the ash and elm. In such situations likewise, the 
oak will grow to a large size, as well as the poplars 
and finer species of willows, if they are planted 
near the brink of the stream. 

The above remarks relate chiefly to dry soils, as 
most of the plants enumerated, with the exception 
of the heath and benty grass, are found in such soils 
only. It is scarcely necessary to have recourse to 
a similar mode of ascertaining the quality of wet 
land. There are few of our wastes that require 
draining, which will answer with the more delicate 
species of aquatic trees, in which class may be com- 
prehended the poplars and foreign species of wil- 
lows. These will prosper on the strips of meadows, 
that are sometimes to be met with on the banks of 
our solitary streams, but they will come to nothing 
in a peat moss or a quagmire, resting on a bottom 
of till. Wherever we find a great quantity of mois- 
ture, therefore, we should plant those kinds of 
aquatic trees, and those only, which are either na- 
tives of the country, or, having been introduced 
from northern climates, have been long naturalized 
in it. For bogs and marshes, which it is impracti- 



QUALITY OF WASTE LAND. 119 



trable to drain, the alder and the indigenous species 
of willows are the proper kinds. Where the sur- 
face water can be got clear of, the spruce and silver 
fir intermixed with birches, and here and there a 
larch, will be found to answer best. These may in- 
deed be considered as the most profitable for wet 
land, whether the soil be good or bad. 

I may notice here, though the remark would have 
more properly appeared in the preceding chapter, 
that there are many mineral productions which are 
unfavourable to the growth of timber. To say no- 
thing of iron and lead ore, the latter of which, es- 
pecially, is well known to be unfriendly to vegeta- 
tion in general, few kinds of trees will grow freely 
where slate abounds. An exemplification of this 
remark may be seen near the slate quarries, in the 
Parish of Culsalmond, Aberdeenshire. Freestone 
especially, when it lies near the surface, is likewise 
inimical to the production of wood. The same is 
perhaps true of most of the minerals that occur in 
Scotland, with the exception of limestone, whinstone, 
and granite ; terms which, as they are commonly 
used, comprehend a number of rocks, to which mi-= 
neralogists give other names, 



120 



CHAPTER VI. 
PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 

SECTION I. 

PREPARATION OF THE GROUND FOR THE RE» 
CEPTION OF THE PLANTS. 

The next subject that comes under consideration 
is the planting of waste land ; but as this will em- 
brace a variety of topics, each of which will require 
to be explained at some length, the best way of 
proceeding in order to prevent confusion, will be to 
treat them seperately, ranging each under a head by 
itself I begin with the preparation of the ground 
for the reception of the plants. 

One of the most indispensable preliminaries to 
planting any piece of waste land, is properly to en- 
close it ; for if a young plantation be left exposed to 
the inroads of sheep or cattle of any kind, it will be 
in vain to expect it to prosper. Fences, in this 
country, are generally constructed of stones or of 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 121 



turf, and, in some instances, though more rarely, of 
paling. When stones can be procured, and this 
can easily be done in most of the waste lands in 
Scotland, without even the expense of quarrying, 
tliey are by far the best materials for an enclosure. 
Turf may be considerably cheaper in the first in- 
stance, but it makes a much less durable fence, and 
is not so efficient even while it continues in repair. 
Paling may be constructed in such a manner as to 
be cheaper at the outset than either turf or stones, 
if a proprietor has young plantations in need of 
thinning, capable of furnishing spars large enough 
for the purpose. But this kind of fence is liable to 
be broken down by cattle rubbing themselves upon 
it, and a variety of other accidents, which keep it al- 
most in continual need of repair ; and it is, besides, 
but temporary, as it soon rots and falls to pieces. 

A stone or turf enclosure may be built either in 
the form of a common dike, or in that of a sunk 
fence, having a ditch running along, and close to 
its perpendicular side. The latter form is only to 
be recommended where materials are scarce, for 
though it is less expensive at first, it comes sooner to 
need repairs than a common dike, and is on the 
whole not so good a fence. 

In districts where there are no sheep, fences will 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 

not require to be more than four feet, or four feet 
and a-half high, but where these animals abound, 
especially any of the Scotch breeds, five feet, inde- 
pendent of the coping, will be requisite. Instead of 
being built perpendicular or plumb, as it is termed, 
dikes of all descriptions should be wider at the base 
than at the top ; so that they may slope consider- 
ably on each side, and that their centre of gravity 
may be as near the ground as possible. This is es- 
sential to their stability, for being without any kind 
of cement to bind their materials together, they will, 
if built perpendicularly, bulge out and soon fall to 
pieces. When the stones are of a convenient size, 
they should be built in regular courses ; the stones 
of every succeeding course being so laid, that each 
may rest upon two of those below, as in masonry. 
The heart of the dike must be well packed, other- 
wise the stones will fall inwards in the course of a 
few years, and all will go to ruin. The top should be 
either coped with turf, or with a row of stones, each 
large enough to take in the whole, or nearly the 
whole, breadth of the dike. The latter method is 
the more eligible, as it affords less secure footing to 
man or beast, that may be inclined to trespass, than 
turf does. The best builders of stone-dikes are to 
be found in the parts of the country where this 



PREPARATION OF THE GROUND. 



kind of fence is most prevalent, and contractors from 
these should of course be preferred. The best dikers 
in the north of Scotland are perhaps those of the 
middle district of Marr, in Aberdeenshire. The 
most famed in the south are those of Galloway, 
who practise a peculiar kind of coping, which is in 
great repute. 

The cheapest way of constructing a paling, is to 
drive upright posts into the ground, and nail spars 
to them horizontally. This is the only mode of 
forming paling, in fact, which will be found less ex- 
pensive, even at the first outset, than a stone-dike. 
The upright posts should not be made farther asun- 
der than six or eight feet ; and the horizontal spars 
not more than one foot ; and four rows of them will 
be required in order to defend sheep. 

In wet land, another indispensable preliminary to 
planting is ditching, for no kind of trees will thrive, 
not even the most aquatic species, where water ei- 
ther stagnates, or runs above the surface. To make 
ditching effective, the nature of the ground must 
be well considered, as different modes of proceeding 
become necessary as this varies. When the soil is 
of a light quality, and soft enough to let the water 
filtrate easily, one ditch of proper dimensions, and 
rightly situated, will dry a considerable extent of 



124 PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 

ground. On the contrary, when the land is of a 
stiff sour quality, the moisture is much more diffi- 
cult to drain off, and the effect of one ditch will be 
comparatively trifling. Perhaps the most economi- 
cal way of draining such lands, is to make one ditch 
(or more if necessary) of a considerable size, and to 
connect a number of smaller ones with it, as 
branches. Where wetness is occasioned by a sub- 
stratum so hard as to be impervious to water, it will 
serve no useful purpose to go deeper, in making 
ditches, than the level of such substratum, however 
little it may be below the surface. Shallow land 
incumbent on a bottom of this kind, may therefore 
be made as dry as it is susceptible of being, by divid- 
ing it into ridges of from twelve to twenty-four feet 
wide, with ditches of the size of furrows between 
them. Sometimes the wetness of the land proceeds 
from the moistvire which runs from the more ele- 
vated ground contiguous to it. When this is the 
case, th^ best method of drying it will be to run a 
ditch between it and the latter. The bottom of this 
ditch should be somewhat below the level of the 
lowest part of the ground intended to be dried. If 
the latter slopes considerably, however, a single 
ditch, to answer this description, would require to 
be sunk to an impracticable deepness, and it will 



PREPAllATION OF THE GROUND. 125 

therefore be necessary to make several parallel ones, 
at such distances, that the top of the second may be 
on a level with the bottom of the first, and so on ; 
and that the bottom of the last may be lower than 
the least elevated part of the ground. Sometimes 
a considerable extent of ground is rendered wet by 
a spring, in which case the fountain-head should be 
carefully ascertained, and a ditch of sufficient capa- 
city to carry off the water which it throws out, 
made from it, in the most convenient direction. It 
is almost unnecessary to observe, that ditching or 
draining of any kind presupposes a proper declivity 
for carrying off the water, and where this is want- 
ing, the drying of ground is hopeless. 

In making ditches, the earth thrown out should 
be thrown to some distance from the edge, and the 
bottom should be left entirely free of any inequali- 
ties. The sides should slope considerably, otherwise 
fragments of them will be continually falling dow^n, 
and filling up the channel. Water runs quickest, 
and does least injury, to the banks that confine it, 
when it has a straight course. A ditch, therefore, 
will best answer its intended purpose, and continue 
longest in repair, when it is free of crooks and 
angles. It is in consequence generally better to 
form several straight ditches, than to endeavour to 



126 PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



make one serve the purpose of all, by carrying it in 
a crooked or zigzag direction. Sometimes, however, 
it will happen, from the shape of the ground, or 
some other circumstance, that a crooked ditch is the 
only one which will answer. When this is the case, 
the turns should be made round instead of angular, 
and as gradual and easy as possible. When one 
ditch opens into another, the corners formed by their 
junction should also be rounded. It is hardly ne- 
cessary to add to these remarks, that however well 
ditches be made at first, they will occasionally re- 
quire to be scoured and repaired. 

Waste land is generally covered with heath, 
furze, or broom, and these are often in such a state 
of luxuriance, as to render it necessary to clear them 
away before proceeding to plant, otherwise the least 
expensive way of performing that work will be pre- 
cluded. The easiest mode of clearing away heath 
is to burn it. This should be done in autumn, or 
early in spring, and at least three years before we 
intend to begin planting. This interval is necessa- 
ry, in order that the surface of the ground may be 
again covered with vegetation. I have never seen 
young trees succeed well, when planted while the 
surface was entirely bare from the effects of burning. 
The reason seems to be, that the ground is then in 



PllfiiPARATION OF THE GROUND. 



127 



a blown or loose state, and admits both the frost 
and drought much too freely. Heath should not be 
burnt when it does not exceed fom* inches in height, 
as, in this state, it will not impede the planting of 
the smallest plants that are ever removed from the 
nursery. At the greatest length it attains, it does 
not injure the plants themselves, but merely renders 
the fixing of them a matter of greater difficulty than 
is desirable, or than can sometimes be overcome, 
even by the most expert workmen. 

Furze and broom are more difficult to get rid 
of than heath. They may, indeed, be burnt as easi- 
ly as the latter, but their roots remaining in the 
ground render it boss or hollow, a state in which the 
drought gains so easy admission, as to make it im- 
possible for any thing planted in such a situation to 
grow, or even to survive. Instead of being burnt, 
therefore, as has been recommended with regard to 
heath, it is necessary that furze as well as broom be 
carefully rooted up. These remarks, however, are 
to be understood as applicable only when very small 
plants are to be used. There are cases, as we will 
afterwards have occasion to notice, in which it is ad- 
vantageous to let furze and broom remain as we find 
them. 

Wherever heath grows plentifully, the surface 



128 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



when pared off, and properly dried, is susceptible of 
being burnt, and some recommend paring and burn- 
ing as a good preparation of land about to be plant- 
ed. This practice, however, except where there is 
a considerable depth of peat-moss, is not merely use- 
less but pernicious. Its advocates ground their sup- 
port of it on the ashes which it produces ; but, with 
the exception already mentioned, they are wholly in- 
significant in quantity, while the burning evaporates 
a great part of the real strength of the land. In 
peat-moss, however, where a sod of several inches 
thick may be taken off without laying bare the sub- 
soil, paring and burning may be resorted to with 
advantage. Land of this kind in the natural state, 
is found to agree very indifferently with most kinds 
of wood. The cause seems to be, that its vegeta- 
tive power lies dormant, and requires the application 
of some stimulant to restore its activity. Now, the 
ashes created by burning the surface are found to be 
such a stimulant ; for without the addition of any 
other manure, we often see them render mossy land 
capable of producing a good crop of corn, and it is 
reasonable to conclude, that they will have the same 
beneficial effect in communicating the energy which 
is requisite for the growth of trees. 

Paring is performed with a spade made for the 

4 



PREPARATION OF THE GROUND. 129 



purpose, having a very long handle. The best time 
for executing the work is from March to the end of 
August, the season at w^hich the drought is general- 
ly most intense. The sods w^ill dry most quickly, if 
they are set on their edges, three and three together, 
so as to support each other. When they are dry 
enough for burning, they should be collected in pret- 
ty large parcels, and piled up in such a manner that 
the wind and air may have free access. This is es- 
sential to their being quickly consumed. 

Some writers recommend much more expensive 
modes of preparation than any which I have here 
proposed, such, for instance, as ploughing or trenching 
the ground. As to ploughing in rough stony land, 
that has never undergone the operation before, were 
it always practicable, I know of no purpose that it 
can serve, but to render the surface more uneven 
than it was in its primitive state, and increase the 
difficulty of planting. Trenching, when applied to 
barren ground as a preparation for wood, is of very 
doubtful utility *, and were its advantages certain, 

* By thisj it is not meant that trenching of barren land 
may not accelerate^, in a considerable degree, the growth of the 
trees planted on it. But with regard to firs especially, it may 
be doubted, whether any advantage cau be gained by such ac- ^ 
celeration, that is not more than counterbalanced by the timber 
being deteriorated in quality by this means. 

I 



130 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



the expense of it would preclude its coming into ge- 
neral use. Those who advise the adoption of such 
a plan, are generally persons whose knowledge is 
purely theoretical. Though unintentionally, they 
do real injury to the interests of planting, by per- 
suading their readers that it is a kind of improve- 
ment much more costly than it actually is, when 
conducted on rational principles. 



SECTION II. 



ON THE AGE WHICH THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF 
TREES OUGHT TO BE WHEN THEY ARE REMOV- 
ED FROM THE NURSERY TO WASTE LAND-DE- 
SCRIPTION OF VARIOUS METHODS OF PLANTING. 

The most proper time for removing Firs from the 
nursery to waste land, is when they are two years 
old. Larches, indeed, may often be successfully 
transported at half this age, as they grow more in 
the seed-bed during their first summer than any 
other species of the same tribe ; but the Scots, 
spruce, silver and balm of Gilead firs make so little 
progress the year they rise from the seed, as to ren- 
der the planting of them, if not absolutely imprac- 
ticable, at least so difficult an operation, that few 



AGE OF PLAKTS. 



131 



workmen will be found, possessing both the dexte- 
rity and patience to perform it in such a manner as 
is necessary for the welfare of the plants. 

Formerly it was customary, in making planta- 
tions of firs, to use plants of an age much superior 
to that above mentioned, and a practice, which was 
once universal, is, in many districts, still common. 
As the expense of planting increases with the size 
of the plants, it is reasonable to conclude, that the 
practice in question originated in an opinion, that 
it was better calculated for securing the growth of 
the trees, than any more economical plan ; and 
some feeling of a similar kind must be the reason 
why it is adhered to in the places where it yet pre- 
vails. But such an opinion, however generally it 
may have once been entertained, and however firm- 
ly it may, in certain districts, still keep up its 
ground, I have no hesitation in affirming to be 
completely erroneous. The experience I have had 
enables me to say, with as much confidence as I can 
speak on any point whatever, that the longer any 
fir is allowed to remain in the nursery, after it has 
attained two years' growth, so much the less chance 
is there of its success, when removed to its final des- 
tination. The roots of a fir become the more woody 
and destitute of small fibres as it advances in years^ 

I 2 



1321 PLANTING OF WASTE LAND, 

till, at length, these fibres entirely disappear ; and 
when this takes place, no tree of any kind can be 
removed without endangering its life. An ash, an 
elm, or a birch, may be transplanted with safety, 
when it is eight or ten years old, or with careful 
management, even after it has arrived at its full 
growth ; and the reason is, that its roots are well 
provided with small fibres, at every period of its age. 
But transplant larches, Scots firs, or any other spe- 
cies of the same family, after they have stood only 
six or seven years in the nursery, and one-half of 
them will infallibly perish. Let them be removed 
at ten years old, and scarce one in a hundred will 
survive. The spruce and the silver retain their 
small fibres longer than the rest, and they, of course, 
may be removed with less comparative danger at a 
greater age than any of the other kinds ; but with 
regard to the whole race, the assertion already made 
will be found true ; namely, that the safest time for 
transferring them from the nursery to waste land is, 
when they are two years old, and that the danger 
of removal, after this period, increases regularly with 
their age. If any reader is inclined to doubt this, 
I would recommend to his notice the following sim- 
ple experiment : — Take an equal number of firs of 
any kind, but of different ages, two years being the 



AGE OF PLANTS. 



13S 



youngest ; let them be as nearly as possible equal 
in healthiness ; put them into any piece of waste 
land ^vhere the soil is adapted for the particular spe- 
cies on which the experiment is tried, and give 
them equal justice in planting. The result, at the 
end of two or three seasons, will be such as to con- 
vince the most sceptical of the truth of what has 
been just advanced. Such an experiment may, at a 
very moderate expense, be made to comprehend 
every variety of the fir tribe. 

Both economy, at the first outset, therefore, and 
the success of the plantation afterwards, determine 
that the proper time for transporting firs from the 
nursery is, when they are in their second year. At 
this period, larches may be obtained transplanted, 
as it is customary to put considerable numbers of 
them out into nursery lines, when they are one year 
old. Such plants have generally better roots than 
those that have remained in the seed-bed till they 
are of the same age ; but as their price is consider- 
ably higher than that of the latter, it is somewhat 
doubtful whether they are so much superior in qua- 
lity as to compensate for the greater expense which 
attends the use of them. At all events, healthy 
larches from the seed-bed have never failed to give 
satisfaction when put into soil suitable for them, re- 



134 



PLANTING OF WASTELAND. 



ceiving, at the same time, due justice in planting. 
With regard to the other species of firs, they are 
scarce ever transplanted in the nursery, till they are 
two years old, so that, in pui'chasing them of this 
age, there is no choice left but to take them from 
the seed-bed. 

Besides the fir tribes, there are two or three other 
varieties of trees which are found to succeed well in 
waste land, when removed to it from the nursery in 
their second year. These are the birch, alder, and 
mountain-ash. The last mentioned of the three, 
indeed,, generally attains a size in one year which 
qualifies it for being transplanted to the most bar- 
ren situations, as successfully as at any period what- 
ever. 

As soon as it was known that firs, and the other 
species just mentioned, might be successfully trans- 
ported to the moors, at the above stated age, it was 
natural that a similar attempt should be made with 
that important class which comprehends the ash, 
elm, beech, plane, and oak. But, to say nothing of 
the last mentioned tree, the proper mode of culti- 
vating, which is explained at another place, I have 
never known this experiment answer well with the 
other four species, though I have seen it tried in a 
variety of instances, to a considerable extent, and in 



AGE OF PLANTS. 



135 



land of a quality perfectly congenial to the nature 
of the trees. 

Here it may be expected that some reasons 
should be assigned why a result so different ensues 
in the case of the species in question, from what has 
been stated as taking place when firs are concerned. 

But this mystery I confess myself unable to clear 
up. The difficulty is rendered the more hard of so- 
lution, from the fact, that all the deciduous trees 
above mentioned, with the exception of the oak, 
which is averse to removal under any circumstan- 
ces, may be transplanted in thousands and tens of 
thousands in the nursery, without almost a single 
failure, at the same age at which, if they are trans- 
ported to waste knd, three-fourths of them will pe- 
rish. The knowledge of the fact, however unable 
though we be to account for it, is sufficient to di- 
rect us in practice ; and plainly warns us, in form- 
ing plantations of ash, elm, planetree, and beech, to 
make use of such plants only as have stood some 
time (two years at the least), in nursery lines, after 
having been removed from the seed-bed. 

Willows, poplars, and other trees which are pro- 
pagated by layers and cuttings, may be removed 
from the nursery as soon as they are sufficiently 



136 PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



rooted, which, in general, they will be, in a year af- 
ter the slips and layers are put into the ground. 

The above remarks embrace all that I have to 
offer respecting the ages at which the different 
kinds of trees ought to be transferred to the situa- 
tions where they are intended finally to remain. I 
proceed next to describe the several varieties of 
the mechanical part of planting in most common 
use ; andj in doing this, I will have an opportunity of 
pointing out the cases in which each may be most 
successfully applied. 

The oldest, and most generally known, system of 
planting adopted in forming woodlands, is that 
which has received the technical denomination of 
'pitting. It may be described as follows : — A suffi- 
cient number of round holes or pits are made in the 
ground intended to be planted, at regular distances 
from one another, and each large enough to contain 
the roots of a single plant, when extended at their 
full length. The earth taken out in digging the 
pit is laid upon its edge, care being taken nei- 
ther to tread upon nor scatter it. In putting 'in 
the young trees, two persons are generally employ- 
ed. One sets a plant in the pit, in such a position 
as that the central part of the root may coincide 



MODES OF PLANTING. 



137 



with the middle of the latter, holding it perpendi- 
cidar by the top, while the other shovels in the 
earth till the hole be filled, and the roots sufficient- 
ly covered. The earth is then trodden down with 
the foot to make the plant firm in its position, and 
in this way the work proceeds till the whole is com- 
pleted. 

Sometimes one person undertakes the whole ope- 
ration, and, in that case, he uses a cross made of 
two small sticks, which instrument is laid on the 
mouth of the pit to keep the plant in an erect pos- 
ture, while the earth is put upon its roots. This sub- 
stitution of a stick for a man is not, however, to be 
recommended but in cases of absolute necessity, as 
it performs its part in a very indifferent manner. 
Nor do its services save much ; for though it is an 
assistant that demands no wages, it is at the same 
time so awkward as materially to impede its living 
coadjutor in the performance of his part of the 
work. 

The perfection of this system of planting consists 
in setting the plant perpendicular, in giving its 
roots sufficient space to be straight and at full length, 
and in properly fixing them. Bruised roots should 
be cut off, and straggling ones shortened, previous 
to planting. But that absurd method of proceed- 



138 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



ing which ignorant or careless workmen sometimes 
adopt, of pruning the roots till they get them to fit 
a too narrow hole, should be strictly prohibited. 
Nothing is more apt to kill a plant than the prun- 
ing of its roots too closely. When a pit is found 
too small to contain them, it should be enlarged to 
the necessary size, but on no pretence whatever 
ought they to be reduced in order to suit its dimen- 
sions. 

The pitting system should be adopted in every 
instance in which the plants exceed two years old ; 
and no other method should, of course, be ever re- 
sorted to when we have to do with the ash, elm, 
planetree, and beech. 

The expense of planting was much reduced by 
the introduction, about a century ago, of the notch* 
ing system. Of this there are now two varieties, 
the oldest of which may be described as follows : 

One person makes a notch in the ground, or ra- 
ther two notches crossing each other, with a com- 
mon spade, raising the sod by bending down the 
handle of the instrument, till the notch become wide 
enough to receive the roots of the plant. An assist- 
ant, who attends with a bundle of young trees, 
singles out one of them, and slips its root into the 
aperture thus made for its reception. The spade is 



MODES OF PLANTING. 



139 



then withdrawn, and the natural elasticity of the 
sod causes the edges of the notch to approach each 
other, — a tendency which is assisted by a smart 
stroke from the heel of the planter, and this fixes 
the plant. In this way, two persons well practised 
in the work, will put into the ground between five 
hundred and a thousand plants per day. 

This system was much simplified about fifty years 
ago, and rendered so expeditious, that it seems in 
vain to look for its receiving any further improve- 
ment. Instead of the spade, an instrument of near- 
ly the same shape, but so small that it can be 
wrought with one hand as easily as a common gar- 
den-dibber, was introduced, and is now known by 
the name of the Planting-iron. With this a notch 
is made in the ground to receive the root, and, ow- 
ing to the portability of the tool, and its occupying 
but one of the hands, the person that works it re- 
quires no assistance, but, carrying a parcel of plants 
in a wallet before him, he singles out one with his 
left hand, inserts it in the notch, withdraws the 
implement, fixes the plant with his heel, and pro- 
ceeds with as much apparent ease as if he were 
performing the operation in the soft ground of 
the nursery. In this way of planting, the work- 
man goes forward in such a line as he can judge 



140 PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



of by his eye, and as it is extremely difficult 
to see the plants after they are put in, especial- 
ly if the heath is pretty long, he sets up poles in 
the first line, to enable him to keep the second a 
due distance from it ; and, in planting the last men- 
tioned, he removes these poles into it, as he comes 
opposite to them, which then serve as his guide in 
planting the third ; and thus he proceeds till he 
cover the whole of the ground. Instead of poles, 
the simpler expedient is sometimes adopted, of cut- 
ting up small sods here and there with the planting- 
iron, and laying them on the tops of the heath, and 
they answer the same purpose, though in a less per- 
fect manner. The lines thus formed are necessarily 
so zig-zag, that, when the trees grow up, they do 
not seem to have been planted in rows of any 
kind. 

In this way, an expert workman will plant be- 
tween three and four thousand young plants a day, 
and do it so perfectly, that the fault will not be his 
if a single individual of the whole number fail to 
grow. This method, therefore, is, at least, six or 
seven times cheaper than the original form in which 
the notching system was introduced, and, in fact, 
renders planting as economical a process as it seems 
possible to make it. When a person sees it pr^c- 



MODES OF PLANTING. 



141 



tised for the first time, the expedition with which 
it is performed never fails to astonish him ; and the 
apparent slovenliness of the operation is as sure to 
prejudice him against it. There is so little of that 
care exercised, which he had previously supposed to 
be necessary, in order to make a tree grow, that he 
regards the whole process with contempt, and is dis- 
posed to wonder at the stupidity of those who hope 
to rear wood by means which, in his estimation, are 
so unspeakably absurd. The strongest prejudice, 
however, gives way on observing the effects of the 
system. I have assisted in planting, according to 
this plan, upwards of three thousand acres in Aber- 
deenshire alone, and, in all that extent, I know not 
of a single instance of failure, where the plants were 
in a healthy state when put into the ground, of the 
proper age and varieties, and suitable for the soil 
where they were planted. 

I am the more anxious to draw attention to this 
method, as there are many districts where it is yet 
entirely unknown ; and should these remarks be in- 
strumental in bringing it into general use, though 
it were but a few years sooner than it would other- 
wise be, I shall have the pleasure of regarding them 
as having promoted, in no small degree, the inte- 
rests of planting. 



142 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



Let not the reader, however, mistake my mean» 
iiig. This system is by no means of universal ap- 
plication. It can only be adopted with propriety 
when the plants do not exceed two years old. To 
apply it to those of a greater age, will, in every in- 
stance, be attended with disappointment, as it is 
impossible to make a notch of a sufficient size to 
contain a large root, without either pruning it too 
closely, or doubling its fibres, both of which are in- 
consistent with the free growth of any plant, The 
use of the system must, therefore, be restricted to 
the fir tribes and the other species enumerated above, 
which may be successfully removed from the nur- 
sery at the age of two years. 

To plant well and expeditiously, in this way, re- 
quires considerable dexterity on the part of the 
workman ; and, where raw hands are employed, it 
will be necessary to have some person to teach and 
superintend them, otherwise their performance will 
be far from giving satisfaction. Those who have 
been previously accustomed to work in the nursery 
will soon become masters of the process ; but others 
will require longer time, and more careful instruc- 
tion. A learner should be taught to put the plants 
into the notch without doubling their roots, to fix 
them properly, and to take care not to strip off their 
bark with the planting-iron. 



SEASON OF TLANTING. 



143 



The plants may have the extremities of their 
fibres shortened a little with a very sharp knife, but 
the greatest care must be taken not to touch the 
woody part of the roots. 



SECTION III. 

SEASON OF PLANTING— DISTANCES AND ORDER OF 
THE PLANTS— ROADS IN PLANTATIONS. 

The most general opinion seems to be, that it is 
better to plant in autumn than in spring. When 
the land is naturally dry, and has a good cover on 
its surface, this opinion is no doubt correct. But 
in wet and swampy soils, as well as in land, whether 
moist or dry, whose surface is bare, I would be in- 
clined to prefer the spring. Wet land swells with 
the frost to such a degree, that plants which have 
not had time to take a firm hold with their roots, 
are almost inevitably thrown out. This effect of- 
ten takes place, as well in the nursery as in newly 
formed plantations ; and it is one that requires to 
be sedulously guarded against, as it not only renders 
the labour of planting abortive, but destroys the 
plants themselves. Dry ground, as has already 



144 PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 

been remarked, is liable to the same inconvenience, 
if the surface be destitute of cover. When, there- 
fore, we have to do with land possessing either of 
these characteristics, it is best to defer planting till 
the month of February, a season at which the 
strength of the frost may be presumed to be over ; 
and, before next winter, the young trees will have 
fixed their roots so firmly as to be out of danger. 
It is, however, proper to state, that these remarks 
have reference to the method of planting last de- 
scribed in the preceding section, and to it only. 
When the pitting system is adopted, it fixes the 
plants so thoroughly, as to render the utmost power 
of frost incapable of doing them any injury. 

Autumnal planting must not commence till the 
wood of the plant be fully ripened; and spring 
planting must not be carried on after the buds be- 
gin to swell. The utmost limits of the planting 
season may, therefore, be estimated from the middle 
of October to the middle of March. In backward 
autumns, it will not be advisable to begin operations 
earlier than the first of November, nor to continue 
them, in forward springs, later than the end of Feb- 
ruary. 

With regard to the distance from one another at 
which trees should be planted, there are various opi- 
nions. In most places of Scotland, it is customary 

3 



SEASON OF PLANTING. 145 

to put from three to four thousand into the acre. 
Of this number, a great part require to be thinned 
out at an after period, in order that the rest may 
have room to come to maturity. Such crowded 
planting has, therefore, been censured, as a source 
of needless expense and labour ; and to those who 
take a superficial view of the matter, the practice 
must no doubt appear sufficiently absurd. People, 
however, who have more carefully considered the 
subject, see it in a very different hght. When 
trees are exposed to the full rigour of every blast 
and hurricane, they are generally, even at their best, 
crooked, unsightly, and dwarfish ; or they, at least, 
possess these undesirable qualities in a far greater 
degree, than when they enjoy protection from the 
violence of the winds. Even the comparatively 
insignificant size which they attain, is acquired by 
extremely slow degrees. To prove these assertions, 
it is only necessary to instance the case of trees which 
stand solitary, and of those placed in hedge-rows or 
in belts, all of which are universally found to be 
inferior to such as are in precisely the same circum- 
stances, with the single exception, that they grow 
in extensive woods or forests. No reason can be 
assigned for this difference, but that the latter have^ 

K 



146 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



by their situation, the advantage of shelter, while 
the former are destitute of it. 

If shelter, then, has so great influence in pro- 
moting the growth of trees, we have a very strong 
reason for planting them much nearer to one ano- 
ther than they will require to stand when they 
reach their full maturity ; for the closer we plant 
them, the sooner, it is evident, will they be in a ca- 
pacity to defend each other from the winds. If 
they be placed only four or five feet asunder, the 
quicker growing kinds will be tall enough, in the 
course of five or six years, to screen each other from 
the weather, as effectually as if each of them were 
surrounded by a stone and lime wall ; whereas, if we 
put twelve, sixteen, or twenty feet between them, 
they must remain exposed, and in consequence be 
greatly retarded in growth for a much longer period, 
or probably become so stunted and hide-bound as 
never to grow freely afterwards. I have observed it 
generally to hold good, that the plantations which 
grow most quickly, are those which stand in need of 
thinning by the time they are eight or ten years 
old ; and I do not recollect a single instance of 
young trees being in a thriving state where they 
w^ere straggling and far asunder. I am, therefore, a 
decided advocate for thick planting, and would ad- 



DISTANCES AND ORDER OF PLANTS. 147 

vise that not fewer than three thousand trees per 
acre be planted in good land, nor a less number 
than four thousand, when the soil is of a middling 
or inferior quality. 

When, however, we intend any of the deciduous 
species, which require to remain in the nursery till 
they are of a size that render their price high, and 
the expense of planting them considerable, to be the 
principal crop, it would be the height of folly to 
place them nearer to one another than the distances 
they may be supposed to require when they have 
arrived at their full size. They should be planted 
from sixteen to twenty-five or thirty feet asunder, 
according to the richness of the soil ; and as many 
firs planted among them, by way of nurses, as will 
make the whole of the above mentioned thickness. 
This so obvious method of saving expense is often 
unaccountably neglected. 

On the order of the plants little need be said. It 
was formerly the custom to place them in straight 
lines, and a most absurd custom it was, as it gave 
the wind a thoroughfare between every two rows of 
trees ; so that the centre of the plantation was as 
shelterless as the open plain. The effect on the eye 
which a wood, planted on this principle, had when 
it grew up, was in the highest degree formal and 

K 2! 



148 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



unpleasant. In fir plantations, this was particu- 
larly the case ; as from the stiff regular shape of 
the tops of this kind of trees, their ranks were as 
well defined at every period of their age as the 
rows of a plot of newly planted cabbages in a kitchen 
garden. The absurdity in question is now, how- 
ever, universally exploded ; and it would be fighting 
a shadow to say any thing farther in its discom- 
mendation. In planting according to the method 
last described in the preceding chapter, the work- 
men proceed in lines ; but these, as was there ob- 
served, are necessarily so crooked and zig-zag, as to 
be quite undiscernible when the trees grow up. 

Much inconvenience is often experienced in large 
plantations from the want of roads. When an ex- 
tensive wood comes to require thinning, it is always 
a work of extreme difficulty, sometimes of absolute 
impossibility, for want of an open path, to get the 
trees which are cut down carried from the interior 
to the outside ; and they are, on this account, often 
left to rot where they fall, by which means no ad- 
vantage at all can be derived from them. It often 
happens, too, when a wood is full grown, that those 
trees which it would be most advisable to bring: first 
to market, are situate not in or near the external 
partSj but at the very centre ; in which case the 



ROADS IN PLANTATIONS. 149 



want of ready access must be severely felt- Were 
there no other advantage to be derived from roads, 
than the facility with which a plantation can, at 
any time, be examined, and its state ascertained by 
means of them, their utility would be manifest, and 
to omit putting the reader in mind of them unpar- 
donable. The pleasure, too, that may be received 
from them, as walks, or rides, when the state of the 
weather is such as to demand either shelter or shade, 
is no contemptible argument in their favour ; and, 
without them, it is indeed impossible to have the 
full enjoyment of forest scenery. 

Roads in plantations ought to be contrived in 
such a manner as to afford as easy access as possible 
to every part. They should never be made straight, 
as, in that form, they would present a thoroughfare 
to the wind, than which there are few evils that 
should be more carefully avoided. The line of a 
road should be marked off, or rather the road itself 
should be fully formed, before we proceed to plant. 
The best way of performing the work will be to 
make a ditch on each side of the space intended for 
the road, the inequalities of which should be level- 
led with the earth, or gravel taken out of the ditches. 
Thus the two chief requisites of dryness and smooth- 
ness will be acquired at a very trifling expense. A 



150 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



road of this kind should be of a breadth sufficient 
to allow two carriages or loaded carts to pass each 
other ; and no boggy places, or steep ascents, should 
occur in the line of it. In plantations of a mode- 
rate size, one road may be made to wind so as to 
serve every purpose of accommodation. In more 
extensive ones, it may become necessary to connect 
branches here and there with the principal line, to 
lay open a communication with the parts which it 
cannot be made to approach but by giving it more 
of the serpentine form than can be done without 
occupying too much ground. 



SECTION IV. 

SUPPLEMENTARY REMARKS.— SHELTER FOR DECIDU- 
OUS TREES, &c. 



In addition to what has been said on the subject 
of Planting in the preceding sections, the follow- 
ing miscellaneous observations are submitted to the 
consideration of the reader. 

Allusion has already been made to the advantages 
which every species of trees derive from shelter, and 



SHELTER FOR DECIDUOUS TREES. 



151 



thick planting has been recommended as a mean of 
attaining it as early as possible. This contrivance, 
if it deserves the name, is the only one that can be 
had recourse to, in the case of firs, as there is no 
other species that can, with propriety, be interposed 
between them and the blast, they being themselves 
the hardiest and quickest growing trees we possess. 
In raising deciduous trees, however, circumstances 
are different, and instead of leaving them unprotect- 
ed till their own advancement in growth qualify 
them for turning aside the force of the wind from 
one another, we may easily have shelter in readiness 
before we plant them. 

In a foregoing section, the propriety of planting- 
firs as nurses among deciduous trees was pointed 
out. Such a practice is attended with a great sav- 
ing, as it precludes the necessity of planting more of 
the latter in any given extent of ground, than may 
be supposed capable of filling it, so as to leave no 
spare room when they have attained their full size. 
Instead, however, of putting nurses and nurselings 
into the ground at the same time, as is commonly 
done, it is much better to plant the one several years 
before the other. The firs will, by that time, have 
grown to the height of from three to six feet, and 
will be in a capacity to protect effectually from the 



152 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



injuries of the weather any plants less than them- 
selves that may be introduced among them. 

It may seem that, by adopting this plan, several 
years' growth of the deciduous trees will be lost, but 
it is not so in reality, A great advantage to be de- 
rived from proceeding in this manner is, that the 
deciduous trees are preserved from the danger of be- 
coming hide-bound, which they are very apt ta do 
on being removed from the nursery into exposed and 
cold situations. When this disease attacks trees, 
they are long before they recover the shock, and 
often die entirely, so that every practicable method 
of preventing it should be sedulously employed. 
But for a fuller account of the utility of sheltering 
trees from the time they are planted, the reader is 
referred to the part of the work which treats of the 
cultivation of oak. All the remarks on the subject 
there offered, are applicable to the elm, beech, and 
all the more valuable varieties of the deciduous kind, 
as well as to the oak itself 

Broom and furze of a considerable height afford 
ready shelter for deciduous trees. In planting them, 
however, in such situations, the following rules must 
be observed : — Firsts The pits should be made at 
least three times as large as in open ground, that 
the roots of the furze or broom may be kept at a 



SHELTER 1 OR DECIDUOUS TREES. 153 

proper distance. And, secondly, We must plant 
considerably thicker than when firs are the nurses, 
because the young trees must depend on one anotha: 
for shelter, after they attain the height of five or six 
feet. 

In many parts of Scotland, planting by contract 
is much in use. Nurserymen are the persons who 
generally undertake jobs of this kind, and they en- 
gage to furnish the plants, and put them into the 
ground, at a certain sum per acre. In making such 
bargains, the age of the plants, their varieties, the 
distances between them, and the number of each 
kind to be used, are specified ; and the contractor, 
for the most part, engages to uphold his work for a 
certain number of years ; that is, to put in fresh 
plants in all the deficiencies that may occur during 
the stipulated period. This last condition is the 
best security that can be taken for the works being 
properly executed at first. 

Planting by contract will, in general, be found 
the most economical plan of any, in propagating 
those species which answer with that variety of the 
notching or slitting system last described, in the 
preceding section but one. The reason is, that 
nurserymen have always at command a number of 
hands, who are either already expert at this mode of 



154 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



planting, or whose previous employment has been 
such, that a little practice will give them the requi- 
site dexterity. But it is, in most instances, far dif- 
ferent with the proprietor of the land. He, in gene- 
ral, can obtain no workmen but such as are com- 
pletely untaught, and for whom an instructor or 
overseer must be procured probably with great diffi- 
culty, and at very high wages. What is worse, un- 
less the ground to be planted be very extensive, the 
workmen will not have acquired facility in the exe- 
cution of the work when the job is completed, so 
that the whole of it will be performed with a slow- 
ness which will greatly enhance the cost. Hence, 
proprietors may, in general, contract with nursery- 
men for planting on this system, at less than 
two-thirds of the expense at which they could per- 
form it themselves. This at least is the case in se- 
veral of the northern counties. 

But when the trees are of those kinds that require 
the pitting, instead of the notching system, no ad- 
vantage at all will be derived from treating with 
nurserymen on the above-mentioned plan. Any 
man that can handle a spade and mattock is quali- 
fied to make pits, and abundance of such men are 
every where to be found. The putting in of the 
plants is an operation which must be carefully per- 



SHELTER FOR DECIDUOUS TREES. 155 

formed ; but it is so simple that it may be learned 
with the utmost ease ; and any person who is quali- 
fied to manage the most ordinary kitchen garden 
will be able to superintend the work. The cheapest 
way of making the pits will be to slump them with 
common labourers at so much per hundred ; but 
the putting in of the plants should be always a day 
job; and executed under the inspection of a gardener, 
forester, or some other person whose skill and care- 
fulness can be depended on. 

Those who plant extensively, and have nurseries 
of their own, as they will always require to have 
several men in constant employment under a fores- 
ter, can easily have them trained so as to be capable 
of planting on any system. The remarks contained 
in the last paragraph but one, therefore, are only 
applicable in cases where operations are intended to 
be carried on, on a comparatively small scale, and to 
be concluded in a few years. 

Thus have I laid before the reader all the infor- 
mation I have been able to derive from experience, 
relative to the planting of every species of trees which 
are adapted for our Waste Lands, with the exception 
of the Oak, whose culture is treated of by itself in 
another part of the work. By proceeding according 



156 



PLANTING OF WASTE LAND. 



to the methods I have described, 4000 two year old 
firs, the greatest number that is ever put into a Scots 
acre, may be put into the ground, including the 
price of plants, at twenty, or sometimes as low as 
fifteen shillings. At this rate, the planting of seve- 
ral thousands of acres, an extent which would make 
a very respectable forest, is within the compass even 
of a moderate fortune. Most of the deciduous and 
hard wooded species of trees, — as they ought to be 
transplanted in the nursery, and to remain there 
till they are at least four years old, and as they re- 
quire the pitting, instead of the notching system of 
planting to be adopted, in placing them where they 
are intended to grow up into timber, — will be found 
considerably dearer in cultivation than firs. Yet by 
using the latter as nurses, and planting no more of 
the hard- wooded kinds than will have room to come 
to maturity, plantations of them may be formed as 
low as fifty shillings or three pounds per Scots acre. 
This at least can be done in the northern counties, 
and I am aware of no reason why it should not like- 
wise be possible in the south. 

With regard to the mechanical part of planting, 
other methods might have been described of which 
I have taken no notice. Of the three plans I have 
mentioned, the first and the last are sufficient for 



SHELTER FOR DECIDUOUS TREES. 



157 



every purpose,— the one being requisite for large — 
the other, the cheapest and most expeditious ever 
invented for small plants. As to the method which 
stands in the second place, though it was a consider- 
able improvement when first introduced, it has no 
advantage which is not possessed by the method last 
described, while it is much more expensive, unless 
that it may be learned with rather greater facility 
than the other by beginners. Some, indeed, consi- 
der it as proper to be applied in the case of such 
plants as I have recommended to be treated on the 
pitting system ; but this is a grossly mistaken no- 
tion, and the sooner it is exploded the better. 



( 158 ) 



CHAPTER VII. 
MANAGEMENT OF WOODS. 

SECTION I. 
PRUNING. 

Most deciduous trees, if left to themselves, have 
a tendency to grow with short trunks, containing 
little timber, and to waste their strength in the 
production of large unwieldy tops. This tendency 
it is the office of pruning to correct ; and that pro- 
cess, when timeously and judiciously applied, has a 
most salutary effect in increasing the quantity of 
measurable timber in a tree, and consequently its 
value, when brought to market. Some kinds of 
trees, however, there are, which, instead of receiving 
benefit from pruning, suffer injury from it ; and it 
will be proper to particularize these, before we pro- 
ceed to give directions for its application, in the 
cases where it may be practised with advantage. 

The species that do not admit of this process are 
all the firs, including the larch, or, at least, all of 
them, that are commonly cultivated in this country. 

4 



PRUNING. 



159 



I am aware that my sentiments on this head 
differ from those of several writers of respectabi- 
lity, and, particularly, from those of Mr Pontey. 
" It is impossible not to smile," says that author, 

at the absurdity of writers, who either tell us not 
to prune firs at all, or not to do so till the branches 
show evident marks of decay ; as a little of that 
much neglected article, experience, would teach 
them, or any others, that if a branch were cut off 
while alive, the sap-vessels would send out resinous 
matter enough to seal up the wound, in a way infi- 
nitely superior to human ingenuity. Nor need we 
be afraid of wasting such sap by a too copious dis- 
charge ; as, if the winter operations be discontinued 
at least a month before the sap is stirring, and the 
summer pruning do not commence till three months 
after that circumstance takes place, there is no dan- 
ger to be apprehended. For not only is the end of 
the stump sealed up, but such sealing keeps it so 
much alive, that the wood, which afterwards grows 
over, always unites, either wholly or in part with it ; 
so that, instead of defects, we have usually health 
and soundness, but never, except in the case of very 
large wounds, any thing of consequence enough to 
merit the name of detriment." 

In the passage just quoted, Mr Pontey appeals 



160 MANAGEMENT OF WOODS. 

to experience against those who object to pruning 
firs, on account of the large quantity of sap which 
exudes, or their bleedings as it is very aptly termed, 
not pretending that it would not be hurtful to the 
tree, but merely contradicting the fact of such 
bleeding ever taking place. " A little of that 
much neglected article, experience," he says, would 
teach them, or any others," (meaning his opponents), 
" that if a branch were cut off while alive, the sap- 
vessels would send out resinous matter enough to 
seal up the wound in a way infinitely superior to 
human ingenuity." Notwithstanding Mr PoN- 
tey's boasted experience, however, the fact hap- 
pens to be, that no such sealing up as he contends 
for ever takes place. The resin that distils from 
the wound does indeed congeal on it in cold wea- 
ther; and it would seem to have been in such 
weather only that Mr Pontey gathered his expe- 
rience of the effects of pruning firs. But no sooner 
does a day of warm sunshine occur, than it melts, 
runs down the bark, and leaves the wound as open 
as ever. A new discharge takes place in conse- 
sequence, which congeals and melts in its turn ; and 
thus the process goes on, draining off and wasting 

by degrees the very life-blood of the tree. The re- 
1 



PRUNING. 



161 



sin, when it melts, leaves a white track on the bark, 
and every person, who has been much conversant 
with fir plantations, must have observed that such 
tracks always appear where a green branch has been 
either cut or broken off, proving, beyond a doubt, 
the fallacy of Mr Pontey's assertions. 

Independently of any other consideration, the 
very form in which a fir grows, appears sufficient to 
teach us, that pruning, if not attended with actual 
injury, can at least be productive of no benefit to 
the tree. An ash or an elm, for example, has a 
constant tendency, if left to itself, to depart from 
the shape which constitutes its chief value. It is 
continually throwing out branches which become 
rivals to the leader, and either bend it out of its 
upright course, or starve it, by exhausting an undue 
quantity of sap, and thereby disqualify it for carry- 
ing up the tree. Hence the great use of pruning 
trees of this kind is to protect the leader from the 
rivalship of the other branches, to the end that as 
much of the nourishment drawn from the earth 
may be employed in promoting the growth of the 
stem, and as little of it expended on the top, a part 
which is comparatively of little value, as is con- 
sistent with the laws of vegetation. But, in the 



162 MANAGEMENT OF WOODS. 



case of firs, this use of pruning has no place. Their 
horizontal branches never interfere with the leader, 
nor obstruct its progress in the smallest degree. It 
always, unless broken accidentally, or killed by the 
frost, appears above the most elevated of the hori- 
zontal shoots ; and they, instead of injuring or sup- 
planting, seem to assist it in keeping its perpendi- 
cular position, as those of the same elevation grow 
of equal length all around it. and produce a perfect 
equilibrium. Hence it would appear that the pru- 
ning of firs, supposing it harmless, can yet be pro- 
ductive of no positive good, so that to practise it 
would be to labour and lay out money for no end, 
a species of industry and expenditure which deserves 
any epithet but that of rational. 

Harmless, however, the process in question is far 
from being, and I have known more than one thri- 
ving fir plantation utterly ruined by it. Mr PoN- 
TEY tells us, that it is the cutting off too many 
branches at once that causes injury, and that if we 
take away only two or three tiers at a time, no bad 
effect will ensue. Let any person remove this num- 
ber of living branches from a vScots fir, or spruce, of 
seven or eight years old ; let him, at the same time, 
ascertain its height, and mark some of the plants 
contiguous to it, which are exactly of the same 



PRUNING. 



163 



size. By measuring it and them three years after- 
wards, and comparing the progress of the former, 
made in this interval, with that of the latter, he 
will have a practical demonstration of the utter fal- 
lacy of Mr Pontey's assertions. The taking off 
a few branches will not, of course, be so injurious as 
the displacing at once of a great number, but none 
can be displaced, as the above experiment will 
show, without materially retarding the growth of 
the plant. 

I have said more on this subject than I other- 
wise would have done, as I know that Pontey is 
considered as high authority on every thing that 
regards pruning ; and I am willing to allow, that 
his precepts for the application of this process to de- 
ciduous trees, are more correct and rational than 
those of any other previous writer whom I have con- 
sulted. But his merits, in other respects, make his 
errors on the subject under consideration the more 
dangerous, by creating a deference for his opinions, 
which leads them to be adopted without due exami- 
nation ; and the following of his system too impli- 
citly has already proved destructive to many a hope- 
ful plantation of firs. If my strictures shall have 
the effect, in any degree, of preventing the like 

L 2 



164 MANAGEMENT OF WOODS. 

mischief in future, the present publication will not 
add to the number of those volumes which are en- 
tirely useless to mankind. 

With the exception of firs, I am acquainted 
with no kind of trees that may not derive more or 
less benefit from pruning, provided it be applied in 
a proper manner, and under due restrictions. To 
speak of it in this conditional form is necessary ; 
for it may be, and often is, gone about in such an 
absurd way as to be productive of harm instead of 
good. 

Every pruner understands that the object of 
pruning is to render the stem or trunk of the tree 
as tall and clean as possible, but few pruners seem 
to understand that mode of applying the process, 
which is most conducive for promoting this object. 
Many of them, in operating upon a young tree, pro- 
ceed in nearly the same manner as if they were prepa- 
ring it to serve the purpose of a fishing-rod or a walk- 
ing-stick. Beginning with the branches next the 
ground, they clean all off before them to within a 
little of the top, and, with the exception of a few 
shoots there left, the plant is rendered as twigless 
as an osier willow in the hands of a basket-maker. 
They call this dressi7ig, but undressing would be 
a far more appropriate term ; for the unfortunate 



PRUNING. 



165 



object of their care is exposed to the blast, in a 
state of almost perfect nakedness. 

This mode of pruning, though at first sight it 
may seem to answer completely the end intended, 
serves, in tact, for no purpose but that of ruining 
the tree. This will appear by attending to the 
economy of the sap, according to the most probable 
account of it that has yet been given. The roots, 
in the first place, extract this fluid from the earth, 
and it ascends through the stem and branches, till 
it reach the leaves^. By the latter it is elaborated 
and rendered fit for nourishment, which, without 
their agency, it would never become, any more 
than the food of animals would contribute to their 
support, if it remained in its original state, without 

* Pontey's theory is, that the use of the leaves is for at- 
tracting the sap from the roots, and that they are absolutely- 
necessary for this purpose. But that this is altogether vision- 
ary, appears from the following considerations, or any one of 
them : — First, The sap ascends in spring before the leaves 
make their appearance ; secondly, When the top of a tree is 
cut off, provided it be in a healthy state, and belong to any of 
the deciduous species, the sap, nevertheless, still ascends, and 
new shoots spring forth ; thirdly. The same effects are conse- 
quent on the common practice of heading down plants when 
young. Were the leaves necessary to attract the sap upwards, 
it would rise in none of these cases. 



166 



MANAGEMENT OF WOODS. 



being acted upon, and decomposed by the digestive 
powers of the stomach. After being fully prepared 
by the leaves, the sap again descends, feeding in its 
way, first, the branches ; secondly, the stem ; and, 
last of all, the roots. The branches bearing the 
leaves, then, which last may be called the digestive 
organs of the tree, are just as necessary to the other 
parts, as the other parts, not excepting the roots 
themselves, are to them. It follows, that if the 
number of branches be so reduced as not to carry a 
sufficient number of leaves for the elaboration of 
the sap, part of it will return in an unprepared 
state, and be of no use ; so that the tree, after a se- 
vere pruning, will be deprived of a great part of the 
aliment which formerly it enjoyed. From this it 
is not to be concluded that pruning is useless, when 
conducted under proper regulations ; for, by displa- 
cing a branch that overshadows several others, their 
leaves will be the better exposed to the air and 
light, and so become stronger and more able to per- 
form their office, thus balancing the want of those 
that perish with the branch lopped off. But if the 
whole account of the circulation of the sap now 
given be not a delusion, to remove so many branches 
as is commonly done in pruning, is injurious in a 
degree almost beyond calculation. It tends to ren- 



PRUNING. 



167 



der the trees permanently dwarfish, and as un- 
sightly when standing as they are inapplicable to 
any purpose of utility when cut down. 

But it may be asked, How are we to know the 
exact number of branches that may be removed with 
safety in any given circumstances ? Never, it is 
answered, displace any which have not already got, 
or seem in immediate danger of getting, the upper- 
hand of the leader. These will be known by their 
equalling, or approaching the leader in size ; or, to 
speak less ambiguously, by their being of the same, 
or nearly of the same, girth at the place where they 
spiing from the stem, as the stem itself is at their 
length from its top. This is the plainest rule that 
I can lay down for the guidance of those that are 
inexperienced, and if it be strictly adhered to, I 
think there can be no danger of depriving a tree of 
too many of its branches. I do not mean that the 
girths I speak of should be actually measured : this 
would be an absurd and endless task. The eye will 
judge of them with sufficient accuracy, and with such 
expedition as will not in the smallest degree retard 
the work. 

In proceeding according to this plan, the pruner 
is not to regard, in the smallest degree, the part of 
the stem on which a shoot is situated. If it is too 



16B 



MANAGE31ENT OF WOODS. 



large, it must be displaced, should it be in the high- 
est part of the tree ; if it is not too large it must 
remain, though it be close to the ground. 

But how will this method, the reader may be^ 
ready to ask, ever produce a clean stem ? By re- 
peating the pruning, it is answered, as often as the 
growth of the branches may make the operation ne- 
cessary. Suppose the first time a tree undergoes 
the process, that the branches removed are a consi- 
derable distance from the ground, and that there 
are several smaller ones left growing farther down 
the stem ; these last will gradually increase in size, 
till they, too, must be lopped off, and thus the stem 
will be in the end as effectually cleared, though 
more gradually, and consistently with the health of 
the tree, as by the absurd method reprehended 
above. 

If any branches that were left at a former prun- 
ing low on the stem, appear at the next repetition 
of the process not to have increased in size, we may 
safely conclude that they have had no influence on 
the tree either good or bad ; and as it would be in 
vain to leave them with the hope that they will any 
longer assist in the elaboration of the sap, they 
should be removed as unsightly objects which it is 
no longer useful to preserve. 



PRUNING. 



169 



When a tree has, by any accident, lost its leader, 
a circumstance that frequently happens, we must 
single out one of the most upright of the branches 
to supply its place, and proceed in thinning out the 
rest precisely as is directed above. 

In removing a branch, we should cut as close to 
the stem as can be done without ruffling the bark. 
Some writers recommend a snag of an inch or two long 
to be left as a means to prevent bleeding. But such 
snags are absolutely of no use for this purpose ; and 
when they rot and fall off, they are apt to leave holes 
which are not only very unsightly, but extremely 
prejudicial to the wood, being sometimes instru- 
mental in introducing rottenness to the inmost core 
of the tree. When we cut close and smoothly, 
without leaving any stump, the bark soon covers the 
wound, and leaves no more vestige of it than if it 
had never existed. 

The proper instruments for pruning are knives 
of various sizes, a chisel with a long handle, to ena- 
ble the operator to reach high branches, and the 
saw. These instruments should always be kept 
sharp and in good order ; but the last mentioned 
should only be used for branches that are too large 
to be cut by either of the other two. On no pre- 
tence whatever should bills and axes be employed. 



170 



MANAGEMENT OF WOODS. 



They can scarce be used without barking the stem, 
and they make rough unsightly wounds, and the per- 
cussion unavoidable in working them has very delete- 
rious effects. 

Among the other errors committed with respect 
to pruning, is that of being too loDg of beginning 
the operation. It is often never thought of till the 
trees are sixteen or twenty years old, by which means 
a great part of the advantage to be derived from it 
is irretrievably lost. It ought to commence even in 
the nursery, if the plants remain there more than 
four years ; and at whatever age they are removed to 
their final destination, it should never be delayed 
longer than five years after such removal. In begin- 
ning the process so soon, very few branches will, in 
any instance, require to be displaced. In most cases 
not above two or three, in many, not more than one 
will be taken off ; and in extensive plantations, not a 
few of the trees may be found, at this early period, 
in such a backward state as will induce the skilful 
forester to let them remain as they are, till a future 
opportunity. It does not, however, follow, that 
though little may require to be done, the doing of 
it will be of no use, or that the leaving of it undone 
will be productive of no injury. When many bran- 
ches require to be displaced at once, it may always 



PRUNING. 



be taken for granted that the tree has sustained con- 
siderable damage from some of them not having 
been removed sooner ; and when we have to do with 
a large plantation, if we wait till the most backward 
of the trees stand in need of pruning, we may assure 
ourselves that the more forward ones have suffered 
severely from the want of it. 

As pruning ought to be early begun, so it ought 
to be frequently repeated. Once every two years 
will be as seldom as is consistent with the mode of 
performing it here recommended. In the common 
way of executing it, indeed, there is no occasion for 
so fi'equent repetition, as the trees get such a tho- 
rough trimming at once, that they do not soon for- 
get the infliction. 

Pruning should be persevered in so long as a tree 
is in a growing state, but no advantage at all can 
arise from continuing it beyond this period. It is 
no uncommon thing to see a system of lopping and 
mutilation commenced on trees which have attained 
their full size, and remained stationary for years, 
with the preposterous design of compelling nature 
to resume her operations for promoting growth, after 
she has finally laid them aside. The eflPect intend- 
ed is, of course, never produced ; and the disfigur- 
ing of the tree is all that is gained by the experi- 



172! MANAGEMENT OF WOODS. 

ment. There is but one case in which there can be 
any propriety in pruning full grown trees, and that 
is, when they are top-heavy, as it is termed. In 
such circumstances, the removing or shortening of 
some of their longer branches will lessen the danger 
of their being split, broken, or torn up by the roots 
in storms and hurricanes. But it is only with trees 
which have not been duly pruned when young that 
this precaution will ever need to be adopted. 

Formerly it was the general opinion that pruning 
should be executed in the winter months only, or the 
period which intervenes between the fall of the leaf, 
and the swelling of the bud, in spring. Of late 
years summer pruning has been strongly recommend- 
ed ; but, for my own part, I have not yet had an 
opportunity of seeing it practised on a sufficiently 
large scale to justify me in speaking either in its 
favour or against it. 

Before concluding this article, it may be proper 
to say a few words on that mode of training by 
which trees are made to assume the peculiar shapes 
necessary for some of the purposes of ship-building. 
When an angular shape is required, as in the knee, 
it may be produced by stopping the upright lead- 
er, and making choice of such one of the lateral 
branches as may have the most proper inclination 



THINNING. 



173 



to the stem, to supply its place. And this, in fact, 
is the whole secret of the art ; for, if we can supply 
the ship-builder with wood having the angular 
shape, it belongs to himself to model it into the cur- 
vilinear forms necessary for some of his timbers. 
By bestowing a great deal of pains on trees when 
young, we might, indeed, be successful in making 
them assume the exact curves required, but the 
trouble of such a process would far exceed the pro- 
fit ; for though " as the twig is bent the tree " will 
invariably be " inclined," it is not to be inferred 
that this bending of the twig from the direction 
which nature has given it, can be accomplished with- 
out much vexation, care, and attention. 



SECTION XL 
THINNING. 

In order that young trees may, as soon as possi- 
ble, be in a capacity to shelter each other, we must, 
in planting, as has already been observed, crowd 
them into much less space than they will require 
before they can arrive at maturity. This renders 

thinning a necessary part of the forester's labour ; 

1 



174 



MANAGEMENT OF WOODS. 



and, oil its due performance, the success of every 
plantation will, in a great measure, depend. 

There is an error which often leads to fatal re- 
sults, very generally prevalent with regard to this 
process. It is considered as a cure for an evil that 
has already taken place, instead of what it in reali- 
ty only is — a preventive of one that may be anti- 
cipated. This frequently leads its application to be 
delayed till it can be no longer useful ; or, to speak 
more correctly, till it must, of necessity, be attended 
with effects that are actually pernicious. 

The consequence that ensues from trees being too 
much crowded upon one another, is the exclusion 
of a due supply of air, and the result of this is, that 
they increase in height, without swelling propor- 
tionably in girth ; or, to express it technically, they 
are drawn up weak. If they continue long in this 
state of suffocation, they, in a manner, change their 
nature. Vegetating, as it were, in the confined at- 
mosphere of a stove, they lose their native hardiness, 
and become like tender exotics ; so that they are no 
longer able to bear the admission of such a quantity of 
air as would be necessary to restore their vigour. 
Thinning, applied in such circumstances, instead of 
promoting recovery, tends only to accelerate dissolu- 
tion ; yet it is not till these very circumstances have 

4 



THINNING. 



175 



actually taken place that its application is generally 
thought of. 

In order that thinning may be really serviceable, 
it must be applied early. To specify any particular 
period would be useless, as this must depend on the 
quick or slow^progress the plants have made since 
they were placed in the situation which they occu- 
py. The best rule, and one, perhaps, that may be 
regarded as entirely unexceptionable, is to commence 
the process as soon as the branches of different trees 
begin to run foul of, and interfere with, one another. 
So long as a tree stands completely clear of those in 
its vicinity, the air can circulate about every part of 
it ; and this is amply sufficient for all the purposes 
of vegetation. To cut down any of its neighbours 
while it remains in this state, would be to deprive 
it of the requisite shelter, and to hurt it by prema- 
ture exposure. 

Let it not be inferred, however, from what is here 
said, that it would be proper to delay the operation 
till the branches of all the trees of a plantation ran 
foul of each other. Before this took place^ immense 
damage would be already committed, and things 
would, in fact, be in a condition that could receive 
no benefit from the process in question. If there 
should not be more than twenty trees among twen- 



176 



MANAGEMENT OF WOODS. 



ty thousand which require relief, to these few such 
relief should be immediately given ; and, when ope- 
rations are once begun, on how small a scale soever, 
the plantation should be regularly inspected, once 
every two years, to ascertain whether a repetition of 
the same be necessary. By proceedhig thus, all the 
bad effects of the common mode of thinning will be 
entirely avoided. The trees will neither be suffo- 
cated for want of air, nor starved by the too copious 
admission of it, inconveniences which can only be 
shunned by beginning to thin at the early period, 
and carrying on the process in the gradual and re- 
gular manner here recommended. 

It is scarcely necessary to remark, that, in thin- 
ning, the worst trees should be cut down and the 
best spared, as the maxim is so obvious, that no one 
whom it would be prudent to trust in a wood with 
an axe, or any other edge-tool in his hand, can be 
supposed ignorant of it. Sometimes it will hap- 
pen that two fine trees interfere with one another, 
while they are surrounded by inferior ones. In 
such a case, both the former should be allowed to 
stand, while all those in their vicinity, whose branches 
touch theirs, should be cleared away. Their close 
neighbourhood will thus do little hurt to either, as 
they will accommodate their growth to each other, 



THINNING. 



177 



and throw out their principal branches to the sides 
where they have free space. We often see two 
trees nearly close together, and their branches en- 
tangled on one side, but, having full scope in other 
directions, attain a very large size. 

When the trees grow to such a size that the thin- 
nings become susceptible of application to any use- 
ful purpose, it may happen, in extensive plantations, 
that the number necessary to be cut down at a time 
will be more than can be brought to an advanta- 
geous market in one season. When this happens, 
the following plan will be found convenient : — 

Cut off all the branches of the trees, with the ex- 
ception of a few at the top, which require to be dis- 
placed, but for which there is no immediate sale, 
and leave them standing. This trimming will have 
the eflPect of admitting the air nearly as effectually 
as actual removal ; and the trees thus treated can 
be cut down gradually, as purchasers make their ap- 
pearance. 

In plantations where deciduous trees constitute 
the principal crop, and firs have been introduced 
merely as nurses, a considerable number of the lat- 
ter will have reached nearly their full size before it 
be necessary to remove them. In such circum- 
stances, the cutting of them down is an operation 

M 



178 MANAGEMENT OF WOODS. 



that requires some care. As they will be large and 
weighty in comparison of those intended to remain, 
if they be allowed to fall on the latter, much da- 
mage will be the consequence ; and I have seen very 
promising deciduous trees almost ruined in this way. 
The best method that I know of preventing mis- 
chief, will be to adopt the following artifice : — 

Let the persons employed in felling be provided 
with a strong rope, and a ladder to assist them in 
climbing. Let the middle of this rope be fixed at 
such a height in the top of the tree intended to be 
cut down that the weight of the part below may 
considerably exceed that of the part where it is 
made fast. The ends of the rope are then to be 
tied firmly round the trunk of some one of the 
neighbouring trees to windward. By this contri- 
vancCj the tree which has the rope fixed amongst 
its branches, will, when cut through, instead of fall- 
ing to the ground, remain suspended, and may be 
easily guyed to whatever side may be requisite to 
keep it from injuring any of its neighbours in com- 
ing down. The rope being then untied, the tree 
will prostrate itself harmlessly on the earth. 

If the tree about whose trunk the rope is fastened 
be one of those intended to remain, it will be neces- 
sary to take some means of preventing injury to the 



THINNING 



179 



bark. A bag, stuffed witb fog or straw, will answer 
this purpose if placed below tlie rope. 

It may often liappen, in taking firs nearly full 
grown from among deciduous trees, that none of the 
latter will be in a state sufficiently mature to sus- 
tain the weight of the former. In this case, men 
may be employed to pull the rope in the proper di- 
rection, or it may be made fast by a strong iron 
stake, driven into the ground with a mallet. When 
the wind happens to blow in the direction in which 
the tree is wanted to fall, none of these artifices 
will be necessary. 

It has already been remarked, that, when thin- 
ning is delayed till the trees have suffered consider- 
ably for want of air, the application of it will then 
be productive of harm rather than good. This is 
especially true with regard to firs ; and, in their case, 
if the proper time of beginning to thin be allowed 
to pass, it is wisest to abstain from the process alto- 
gether, and let the stronger trees make room for 
themselves by destroying the weaker. By this means, 
a much less number will arrive at maturity than 
would have been the case had thinning been time- 
ously applied ; but better this than run the hazard 
of ruining the whole by an injudicious attempt to 
effect a cure, by means of an operation that has no 

M 2 



180 MANAGEMENT OF WOODS. 



efficacy except when applied as a preventive, before 
the symptoms of disease become visible. 

In perusing this and the preceding section, the 
reader may be disposed to think that the manage- 
ment of woods, on the plan here recommended, will 
be productive of enormous expense. Upon trials 
however, the mode of proceeding inculcated in these 
pages will be found cheaper than the slovenly and 
erroneous methods in common use. It is true, that, 
by the latter, so much work is done at once that few 
repetitions are required ; but this does not in the 
smallest degree diminish the real quantity of la- 
bour. Suppose, in pruning, according to the di- 
rections of the foregoing section, that the opera^ 
tion is repeated five or six times before the plan- 
tation is twenty years old, it is evident that, at 
each of these times, few branches will require to be 
displaced, in comparison to the number that must 
undergo the same fate all at once, if we do not be- 
gin the process till the trees have reached the above 
mentioned age. It is evident, also, that there will 
be much more time required to cut every separate 
branch in the latter case than in the former, as, by 
pruning frequently, the shoots to be taken off must 
necessarily be of a much smaller size than when the 
process takes place more seldom. It is easier to cut 



THINNING. 



181 



off six branches when the work can be done with the 
knife, than one which is so large as to require the 
saw ; and, in the common mode of pruning, they 
are generally all of this last size. If there be any 
difference, then, in the labour, and, consequently, in 
the expense of the two systems, it is, that the one I 
have proposed has that difference in its favour. 
These remarks are applicable to thinning as well as 
to pruning. 



( 182 ) 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ON THE CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT 
OF OAK. 

SECTION I. 

OPINION THAT THE SOIL AND CLIMATE OF SCOT- 
LAND ARE NOT CALCULATED FOll THE PRODUC- 
TION OF OAK, EXAMINED AND REFUTED. 

That the oak will uoi thrive in Scotland, is an 
opinion, which has, for some time, been pretty ge- 
nerally entertained, and which, instead of declining, 
seems at the present day to he gaining strength, 
and becoming more prevalent. It is pretended, 
that, in the nature of our climate, or in the qualities 
of our soil, or in both, certain principles exist hos- 
tile to the growth of oak, and that as we possess no 
controul over these principles, the most valuable of 
all forest trees can never with us be advantageous- 
ly cultivated. Sentiments of this description are 
not only common among nurserymen and profes- 
sional planters, but seem to be gaining ground 



OAKS SUITED FOR SCOTLAND. 



183 



among such landed proprietors as have turned 
their attention to the rearing of wood on their 
estates ; and hence, in many recent plantations, 
we see the oak entirely excluded, under the sup- 
position that it is a tree which will not grow, where 
the Scots fir and the larch, or even the ash and the 
elm, may be brought to the highest degree of per- 
fection. 

As the prejudice in question stands opposed to 
one leading object of our undertaking ; namely, to 
recommend the cultivation of oak as a source of in- 
dividual profit and national advantage, it is requi- 
site that some pains should be taken to refute it. 
This is the more necessary, because those who 
think the rearing of oak in this country a mat- 
ter of impossibility, contend that their persuasion 
is founded on experience, — an assertion which has 
a tendency to disseminate the error, by leading 
others to adopt the opinion without due examina- 
tion. 

Before proceeding, therefore, to treat of the cul- 
ture and management of. oak, I shall occupy a few 
pages, first, in shewing the groundlessness of the 
idea, that either soil or climate are hostile to its 
production ; and, secondly, in ascertaining the true 
causes of the results in which this idea has origi- 
nated. The last mentioned part of the discussion 



184 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

will naturally lead to the development of some 
principles, which will find their application in the 
subsequent part of the work. 

To show that they have experience on their side, 
those who hold the above mentioned opinions ad- 
duce a great variety of instances, in which planta- 
tions of oak have totally failed. Now, I am pre- 
pared to allow, without prejudice to my argument, 
as I hope will appear in the sequel, that examples 
of this nature are abundantly common throughout 
the country ; nay, that they have occurred nearly as 
often as attempts have been made to rear that tree 
during the last fifty years. In the districts with 
which I am most intimately acquainted, compre- 
hending the five northern counties of Aberdeen, 
BaniF, Moray, Kincardine, and Forfar, oaks have 
been planted, within the above mentioned period, 
to the amount of several millions. Of this immense 
quantity nine-tenths have perished without grow- 
ing so much as to overtop the heath, and of the re- 
mainder, a great proportion have made so little 
progress, and exhibited such a weak, sickly, stunted 
appearance, as almost excludes the hope of their 
ever arriving at the size of timber fit for any use- 
ful purpose. But while I willingly grant that we 
have had unquestionable experience of such failures, 
I strenuously deny that we have any experience 



OAKS SUITED FOR SCOTLAND. 



185 



which, in one out of five hundred instances, justifies 
us in laying the blame either on the climate or soil. 
If experience taught us that want of success in the 
cultivation of any plant could proceed from these 
sources only, then I confess the opinion I am com- 
bating would be most firmly established. But we 
are certain that culture has in the vegetable world 
scarce less influence than either ; and that where 
this is conducted on wrong principles, it will be in 
vain to look for a productive crop, let climate and 
soil be ever so favourable. On seeing an indiffe- 
rent field of turnips, it would be far too hasty a 
judgment to conclude the land to be bad, solely 
on the evidence of the observed deficiency ; because 
such deficiency, as every one knows, might proceed 
from no other cause than imperfect tillage. In like 
manner, that oaks have not thriven when planted 
in any given piece of ground, does not prove that 
such ground is incapable of producing them, till it be 
first ascertained that the treatment they received 
while in the nursery, — their being transplanted, — 
the method in which that operation was performed, 
— and numerous other particulars respecting their 
culture, were perfectly suitable to their nature. 
Nor does it in the least degree invalidate this rea- 
soning, if any other kind of trees should have pros- 



186 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

pered in the same quality of land where oaks have 
perished, even though the treatment of the former 
should have been in every respect similar to that 
of the latter ; because the mode of culture which is 
found to answer with one species of plants is of- 
ten in the highest degree injurious to another. No 
farmer would think of proceeding exactly in the 
same manner in rearing cabbages and turnips. 
Transplanting, which is the life of the one, is known 
to succeed very indifferently v^^ith the other. 

If there be any truth in these remarks, it surely 
is incumbent on those who pretend that either our 
soil or climate is decidedly unfavourable to the 
growth of oaks, and lay to the charge of one or 
other, or both of these, the disappointments which 
have so frequently attended endeavours to rear that 
species of trees ; it is certainly incumbent on them 
to show, before we can rationally acquiesce in their 
judgment, that the mode of culture has been per- 
fect, and that to it none of the alleged failures can 
be imputed. Till they can do this, it is evident 
that their opinion, instead of being built, as they 
imagine, on the rock of experience, is erected on 
the baseless foundation of mere gratuitous assump- 
tion. 

Those, indeed, who consider our climate as the 

2 



OAKS SUITED FOR SCOTLAND. 187 

cause of the results in question, may be refuted at 
the expense of a very few sentences. Oak trees, 
though they have become scarce in Scotland, are 
not yet entirely awanting. In every county, a few 
tolerable specimens are to be found ; in some in- 
stances we even meet with very fine ones. Now, 
though those who impute the fault to the soil, 
evade any argument hence derived, by pretending 
that these instances occur in a quality of land 
which has no parallel in any that now remains to 
be planted, those who impute it to the climate can- 
not, with any degree of consistency, advance a simi- 
lar plea. The soil is known to change almost with 
every change of place. In one part of the same 
field it may consist of clay, in another of loam, and 
in a third of gravel. But this cannot be said of cli- 
mate, which, in as far as regards heat and cold ; 
the circumstances that principally affect the growth 
of plants, is the same, or nearly so, through the 
whole kingdom. In summer, the thermometer 
rises as high in Morayshire as in the Lothians, and 
in winter indicates as great intensity of cold on the 
banks of the Forth as on those of the Spey. If, 
then, the climate is capable of bringing oaks to per- 
fection at Dunkeld or Breadalbane, in Perthshire, 
at Glammis, in Angusshire, and at Invercauld, or 



188 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

Aboyne, in Aberdeenshire, it is capable of bringing 
them to equal perfection at all the intermediate 
places, and in any other part of Scotland. If it be 
answered, in reply to this, that the situations where 
thriving oaks occur are only such as possess the 
advantage of shelter, I have not the slightest hesi- 
tation in giving my assent ; as I am most firmly 
persuaded by evidence derived both from observa- 
tion and actual experiment, that want of shelter is 
one of the real causes why plantations of oak have 
generally succeeded so ill in this country. But this 
is a want that can easily be supplied by artificial 
means, as I shall show in a future part of this work ; 
and all I have to do at present, is to prove that na- 
ture has interposed no difficulties to the rearing of 
oak in Scotland, which are insurmountable, or be- 
yond our controul. 

The opinion, then, that our climate is such as 
ought to dissuade us from the culture of oak, instead 
of being dictated by experience, seems entirely re- 
pugnant to it, and I shall now proceed to demon- 
strate, that the similar opinion with regard to our 
soil is equally ill supported. And as it is insinu- 
ated, however, falsely, that the examples of full 
grown oaks, which occur at present, are to be met 
with only in situations so peculiar as not to entitle 



OAKS SUITED FOR SCOTLAND, 189 



US to conclude that the species will thrive on such 
land as we can now spare for the growth of timber, 
let us inquire whether that species was a native of 
the vast natural forests which once existed in Scot- 
land? If we have any faith either in history or 
tradition, we must be convinced that the affirma- 
tive is the truth. For, from both these sources, we 
may gather directly, as well as indirectly, that the 
oak was not only to be found here and there in 
these forests, but that it abounded in them, — that 
it was not confined to a few districts, but was dif- 
fused over the whole country, — that it attained to 
a great size, — that oak timber was employed in the 
various departments of building and artificers' work, 
and that oak billets were used for fuel ; nay, that oak 
was so plentiful, and its preservation deemed as a mat- 
ter of so little consequence, that large tracts of it were 
sometimes burnt down, not only for the sake of 
clearing the ground, but even on the strange pre- 
tence of dislodging a few miserable outlaws or ban- 
dittis 

From history and tradition, then, the opinion of 
those who say that our soil is not generally qualified 
for the production of oak, derives not support, but 
confutation. Lest, however, they should doubt or 
discredit such sources of evidence, we have proof of 



190 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 



a yet more decisive character to submit to their 
consideration. 

Such of our ancient buildings * as have stood the 

* The devastations of war formerly, improvements in more 
recent periods, and the dilapidations of time in addition to both 
these causes, have swept away most of the ancient habitations 
of our nobility and gentry, while the greater part of the old 
churches and religious houses were dismantled at the Reforma- 
tion. As many still remain, however, as will serve to confirm 
and illustrate what is here asserted. I shall just mention two 
or three examples in the northern part of the country, where 
oak is now seldom found in a growing state, and where the 
difficulty of raising it is supposed to be greatest. 

The most ancient part of King's College, Aberdeen^ that, 
namely, which now forms the Chapel and Library, has its timber 
work all of oak. This building is nearly 400 years old. It 
contains some richly carved work of oak, which is as free from 
decay as the day it came from the hands of the workmen. The 
ceiling likewise, and the fronts of the galleries in the neigh- 
])ouring cathedral, a structure of equal age, and which is now 
the Parish Church of Old Machar, are of the same material, 
and in an equal state of preservation. Eighty miles north- 
west of Aberdeen is Darnaway Castle, a seat of the Earl of 
Moray, in the county from which he derives his title. The 
roof of the noble hall of this building is of oak, and was the 
work of Randolph, one of the most renowned followers of Ro- 
bert Bruce. This hall likewise contains a chair and table, 
both of oak, and of most ponderous weight, once the pro- 
perty of the same hero. Another chair of the same material. 



OAKS SUITED FOR SCOTLAND. 



191 



shocks of time, and exist at the present day in a 
tolerably entire state, afford ocular demonstration, 
that oak was extensively used by our ancestors for 

which belonged, as is said, to IMoray the Regent, and bro- 
ther of Queen Mary, and several others that were saved from 
the wreck of the Cathedral of Elgin, form part of the furni- 
ture of this hall. The last serve to indicate, that the tim- 
ber-work of that building, of which the naked walls now 
alone remain, was also oak. 

The following curious account, taken from the Caledonian 
Mercury of September 7- 1829, is, if possible, a still better il- 
lustration. " Among the remarkable circumstances brought 
to light by the late flood," (namely, that of the 3d of the 
month), " is the discovery of a wooden bridge, over the River 
Dee, a little above Ballater, the existence of which must be 
referred to a very remote period of antiquity, as neither re- 
cord nor tradition make any mention of such a structure. It 
had stood about half a mile above the recently destroyed bridge 
of Ballater, to the west of the hill of Craigendarroch, and was 
laid bare by the late flood striking against the bank at the bot- 
tom of that hill. The bridge had been composed of huge 
oaken logs, with cross beams mortised into piles of the same 
material, standing a considerable height above the bed of the 
river, the tops of the piles, which are now worn away, being 
destined probably to support the path-way of the bridge, — as 
there were neither carts nor carriages in " thae " days. The 
oak framing, which is as fresh as the day it was laid down, is 
composed of trees above eighteen inches square." 



192 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

architectural purposes. In our old churches and 
baronial residences, where the timber-work has not 
been renewed in modern times, we find it, with 
scarcely a single exception, consisting either wholly 
or principally of oak. This is true of all such struc- 
tures, from those of the earliest date that yet re- 
main, down to the erections of the sixteenth cen- 
tury ; nor have we the slightest shadow of reason 
for believing, that these edifices were composed of dif- 
ferent materials from innumerable others of co-eval 
periods, which no longer exist. And if we are cer- 
tain, from the testimony of our eyes, that the roofs, 
the floors, and the massive doors of our ancient build- 
ings were composed of the most durable of all kinds 
of wood, we are no less sure that the furniture of 
their apartments were formed of the same ; and the 
ponderous chairs, tables, bed-steads| &c., which have 
been handed down to us, demonstrate that the 
cabinet-makers of those days had ample, as well as 
cheap, supplies of timber. We may safely add, that 
if our Gothic forefathers were thus liberal in the 
use of oak for the above mentioned purposes, it is 
in the highest degree improbable they should have 
been less so in the fabrication of ships, or that, 
with their proverbial love of strength and solidity, 
they should, in a department where these qualities 

3 



OAK SUITED FOR SCOTLAND- 193 

are perhaps more indispensable than in any other, 
have made use of any but the strongest and most 
solid materials. 

It would appear, then, that in ancient times oak 
was universally employed in the various branches of 
carpenter and joiner work ; and if this was the case, 
the quantity of it produced in Scotland must have 
been immense ; as in those days there was no such 
thing as importation of timber from abroad. And 
it is proper to observe, before leaving this part of the 
subject, that its abundance is not proved merely by 
the common and extensive use of it, but by the 
circumstance, that it could not, at least in inland 
places, be carried to any considerable distance from 
the forest where it was cut down ; for the means of 
conveyance were then in a very imperfect state, the 
roads being extremely inconvenient for draught, 
and carts or waggons scarcely known. The wood, 
as well as the stones of a building must, therefore, 
have been found in its immediate neighbourhood, 
or at farthest, within the compass of a few miles ; 
and hence we are entitled to conclude, that it was 
diffused as generally over the kingdom as were the 
churches and feudal castles in whose construction it 
was used. 

We have yet another source of evidence still more 



194 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK, 

certain, if possible, than any of the former, in the well 
known fact, that remains of oak have been found 
in our peat-mosses, from time immemorial, down to 
the present day. This is the case in parts of the 
country now entirely destitute of any kind of wood, 
and supposed to he peculiarly unfavourable to its pro- 
duction. Along the east coast from Aberdeen, to 
the farthest north point of Caithness, a tract where 
the rarity of trees is now proverbial, there is not 
perhaps one such moss in which remains of this na- 
ture have not, one time or other, been dug up, 
sometimes in entire trees of large size, sometimes 
in small fragments, and sometimes in acorns. The 
same is true, almost without exception, where 
ever peat-moss occurs. Those who are curious on 
the subject, will find a variety of instances on re- 
cord, by consulting the proper articles in Si?' John 
Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland. Se- 
veral examples have come under my own observa- 
tion. I recollect having seen, not many years ago, 
at Crabstone, in the parish of Newhills, within five 
miles of Aberdeen, a gigantic oak-tree, which was 
disinterred by some workmen employed in trenching 
a piece of mossy land, that had not previously been in 
tillage. The wood of the tree was perfectly fresh, and 
its trunk so large and weighty, that it had to be cut 



OAK SUITED FOR SCOTLAND. 195 

in several transverse sections before it was possible to 
remove it from the bed wliere it had probably re- 
clined for ages. This happened in a part of the 
country so far from being noted for its fertility, 
that it is situated in what has, not unaptly, been 
termed the " barren zone " of Aberdeenshire ; and 
the subsoil of the very spot where the tree had 
grown, was that sort of blue clay which is impervi- 
ous to water, and is considered by agriculturists as 
very poor and unproductive. The above and other 
specimens have come under my notice by chance, 
as it w^ere, and without my having ever resided, for 
any considerable length of time, in parts of the coun- 
try where peat-mosses are very abundant. 

The quantity of oak which at one time or other 
has been thus dug up in Scotland, amounts to more, 
perhaps, than could, at the present day, be collected 
from the forests of both the United Kingdoms. How 
well, then, must the Scottish woods have been ori- 
ginally stocked with this sort of timber, since our 
ancestors, with all their wasteful prodigality, could 
not consume it so fast as it came to maturity ; but 
left much of it to be annihilated by the process of 
natural decay, or rather to be embalmed, if we may 
use the expression, in the mosses which itself contri- 
buted to form, that it might be disinterred in future 

N 2! 



196 CULTUllE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

ages to confute those who libel our soil by pretend- 
ing that the monarch of the wood disdains to grow 
in it. 

But it is not only the number of these remains 
which deserves our attention ; we ave also concerned 
with tlie nature of the situations in which they are 
found. And here we have a complete answer to 
these who tell us, " that if oak ever flourished in 
this country, it was only on such land as has long 
since been reclaimed by the plough, and appropri- 
ated to agriculture. Were this true, our peat-mosses 
would occupy places very different from those they 
actually do occupy. We should find them situated 
in the midst of rich pastures, and luxuriant corn 
fields ; and on penetrating to the subsoil, it would 
present us with such appearances as indicate exube- 
rant fertility. Now every one knows that the truth 
is the very reverse of all this. We meet with these 
mosses, generally, in bleak and barren spots, from 
which cultivation has always kept a respectful dis- 
tance. Sometimes they are situated on the flat tops 
of hills, considerably elevated, sometimes at the foot 
of mountains, where they are the sink of the 
water that runs from the contiguous eminences. 
Again, when we examine their subsoil, we never find 
it better, frequently worse, than that of the neigh- 



OA 2k SUITED roil SCOTLAND. 



197 



bouring moor-land. Often, indeed, it consists of the 
identical blue clay or till which has been mentioned 
above, and whose productive powers are commonly 
deemed of so indifferent an order. Upon the whole, 
it may be safely asserted, that the quality of the 
soil in which remains of oak are now found, is decid- 
edly inferior to at least two-thirds of our land 
which at present lies entirely waste, and which, 
therefore, might be planted with wood, without in 
the least degree injuring the interests of agriculture, 
or any other interests whatever. 

That large oak trees, then, did in former times grow 
plentifully in Scotland, — that they prospered on land 
which at present is not better in quality than many 
hundreds of thousands of acres which are still unim- 
proved, seems to be clear beyond the possibility of 
doubt. Has our soil, then, become worse than it 
was formerly ? That it should have done so is as 
improbable as it is unaccountable on any known 
principle. The surface of high hills indeed, is liable 
to reduction from the action of frosts and rains ; 
but granting that elevated ground should, from 
such causes, be now much deteriorated, the same 
does not hold good with regard to the valleys and 
plains. These, on the contrary, ought to be en- 
riched, in the same ratio as the mountains are im- 



198 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

poverished, they being the natural receptacles of 
whatever is washed from the latter. Can it be, 
that the oak, unlike any other plant, is incapable of 
being produced on the same land twice ; and, there- 
fore, that our soil having once borne a luxuriant crop 
of it cannot repeat the effort ? An opinion similar 
to what is involved in this query, I have heard con- 
fidently expressed, but how groundless it is, may be 
known from the fact, that land in oak-coppice pro- 
duces a succession crop every twenty, or twenty-five 
years, without ever betraying any symptoms of ex- 
haustion. 

But, to draw these remarks to a conclusion ; 
enough, I trust, has been said, to show the weakness 
of the theory which it was the object of this ssction 
to disprove. To have said so much, may appear to 
some a needless labour. Those, however, who are 
aware how widely the prejudice which has given rise 
to these observations is disseminated, will agree 
mth me in thinking, that, at least, some attempt to 
remove it was proper, especially as it has abeady 
begun to be acted upon as a fully established prm- 
ciple. The above reasoning is confirmed, if, indeed, 
it requires any confirmation, by the results of ex- 
periments made by myself, and which shall be laid 
before the reader in a future part of the volume. 



OAK SUITED FOR SCOTLAND. 



199 



I might have left the question to be decided by 
these alone, as they are of such a nature that they 
may be easily repeated by any one who is so inclined. 
But as the matter seemed susceptible of being set 
at rest without reference to any experiments what- 
ever, I thought it would detract nothing from the 
value of this work to insert the facts which may be 
used for that purpose. 

I need hardly seek to guard against misrepresen- 
tations, by stating, that I never meant to assert that 
oak will grow indiscriminately on any soil. There 
is, undoubtedly, much land, in Scotland, which wiU 
produce no kind of wood ; nay, which will not even 
bring our hardy national emblem, the thistle, to per- 
fection. Our mountains, for instance, after they 
reach to a certain height, become so destitute of ve- 
getable mould, while the air is so keen and piercing, 
that the heath itself disappears. Even on less 
elevated ground, pieces of invincible sterility are 
found. But exclusive of all such, we have mil- 
lions of acres remaining, on which, with proper ma- 
nagement, we need not despair of seeing the oak suc- 
ceed as well as it did in former ages. 



( 200 ) 



SECTION II. 

ON THE DEFECTS AND EllIlORS OF THE COMMON 
METHOD OF PROPAGATING OAK- 



Total failures in attempts to raise oak in some 
districts of the country, and its slow growth in 
others, have gradually given rise to an opinion, that 
this tree is too delicate for our soil and climate ; 
and, consequently, that it can never be rendered a 
lucrative object of cultivation to the grower of tim- 
ber. That this opinion is founded on misappre- 
hension, and entirely groundless, the author has al- 
ready endeavoured to prove. In the present sec- 
tion, which is intended as an introduction to the new 
plan of raising oak, submitted to the reader in the 
subsequent part of this volume, he will have an op- 
portunity of explaining the true causes of the fail- 
ures in question, and of demonstrating, from the na- 
ture of the tree, as w^ell as from actual experiment, 
that these causes lie wholly in erroneous and defec- 
tive modes of culture. 

The most important characteristic of the oak, in 
studying it with an eye to ascertain the method of 



DEFECTS OF COMMON METHOD. 201 

cultivation most proper for ensuring its speedy and 
free growth, is, that it belongs to that class of plants 
which gardeners denominate tap-rooted. When a 
seedling of one or two years old, it has a root, which, 
though smaller, is shaped exactly like a carrot, and 
is nearly as destitute of fibres. Now, it is well 
known that almost all trees, shrubs, and vegetables 
of this description, agree very ill with transplanta- 
tion. Horticulturists and nurserymen are so com- 
pletely aware of this, that, in removing valuable 
plants of the kind specified, they lift them, when 
posssible, with a ball of earth adhering to their 
roots. This artifice is the best that can be adopted, 
when only required on a small scale, and when the 
plants grow in such a manner as to allow of its be- 
ing easily carried into effect. But to apply it to 
oaks growing in a crowded seed-bed, or nursery- 
line, is obviously impracticable ; and, if it could be 
thus applied, the attempt would be precluded by 
the expense, which, in forming even an inconsider- 
able plantation of a few acres, would be enormous. 
Oaks, therefore, on being transplanted, must under- 
go the process in the same manner as other plants 
with which it better agrees, and the consequences 
are, first, that many of them die immediately after 
the operation, and, secondly, that those which sur-^ 



202 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 



vive are, in most cases, so materially injured as to 
grow but slowly afterwards, and never to attain 
their full and natural size. 

Of the pernicious effects which transplanting has 
upon oak, every one who has had opportunities of 
paying attention to the various operations of the 
nursery must have seen many examples. For the 
sake of others, the following easy experiment is sug- 
gested ; and it is presumed that any impartial per- 
son who will take the trouble to make it, will be 
convinced that to transplant oak is a great and ra- 
dical error in the cultivation of that valuable spe- 
cies of timber. 

Select a piece of tolerably rich land free from per- 
ennial weeds, and secure from the irruptions of cat- 
tle and similar casualties. Dig it a foot deep in the 
month of March, taking care to break it well with 
the spade, and to throw out all large stones. After 
letting it dry for a few days, proceed to crop it with 
acorns as follows : — Open drills of about an inch 
deep, and eighteen inches asunder, being careful, 
while performing this work, to harden the ground 
as little as possible with the feet. In these drills, 
plant acorns at one foot asunder, and cover them 
by drawing the earth over them. When the plants 
appear, which they will do in May, all weeds that 



EVIL OF TRANSPLANTING. 



208 



have arisen must be pulled out with the hand, and 
this is to be repeated as often as necessary during 
the summer. Early next March, let the plants in 
one half of the rows be pulled up, slackening them 
well with a spade that their roots be as little injur- 
ed as possible. Dig the ground thus left empty to 
the same depth as last year, and replant it imme- 
diately with the young oaks just taken out of it. 
This is to be performed with a dibble, taking care 
to fix well, and not to double the roots, to avoid do- 
ing which it will be necessary to prune off the extre- 
mities with a sharp knife ; but the amputation 
must be very sparing, otherwise the death of the 
plants will inevitably follow. The oaks are to be 
kept at the same distance in and between the lines 
as were the acorns from which they grew the preced- 
ing year, and, as well as those not transplanted, must 
be kept free of weeds during the ensuing summer, 
either by hoeing or pulling with the hand. 

An experiment conducted in the manner now 
described is perfectly fair, and must therefore be de- 
cisive. The whole of the oaks are sown at the 
same season, and in the same ground, and have 
equal advantages, in every other respect, during the 
first year. The replanting of those taken up, in 
the place they formerly occupied, instead of remov- 



204 CULTUllE x\ND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

ing them to another situation, precludes every doubt 
that might arise, were they so removed, as to their 
being on an equal footing, as far as regards strength 
and quality of soil, with those not transplanted, and 
their close juxtaposition with the latter, renders it a 
matter of the greatest facility to ascertain their 
comparative growth. The space, too, allowed the 
plants, which much exceeds that generally given in 
the nursery, will admit of the experiment being 
carried on, for several years, without inconvenience. 

To be convinced, therefore, of the bad eflPects of 
transplanting, nothing farther vail be necessary 
than to watch the future progress of these trans- 
planted and untransplanted oaks. During the 
droughts of June and J uly, a number of the former 
will go off or die, notwithstanding that the greatest 
care may have been taken in planting them ; and 
by the time of the fall of the leaf, the difference be- 
tween the survivors and those which were not trans- 
planted will be so striking, as hardly to escape the 
notice even of the most careless observer. While 
the latter will have made strong upright shoots of 
from twelve to eighteen inches, according to the 
poorness or richness of the soil, the former will have 
made no progress at all in the direction of the lead- 
er, (which transplanting indeed generally destroys) ; 



EVIL OF TRANSPLANTING* 



^05 



and will have thrown out a few insignificant lateral 
shoots only, of two, or at most of three, inches long. 
Nor will the superiority of growth of the un trans- 
plan ted oaks end with the first year. Next season 
they will still outstrip the others considerably, and 
they will continue to do so for several successive sum- 
mers ; so that if both be allowed to remain in their 
situation till they are six years old, the difference 
between them will be found to be much greater 
than it was the second autumn. And it will not 
only be the inferiority in size of the transplanted 
oaks which will, at this time, constitute the distinc- 
tion between them and the others: The transplanted 
oaks will be bushy at top, and have their shoots and 
branches in a horizontal direction, so that the skill 
of the pruner, exerted even at this early period, will, 
in many cases, fail in training them up to be 
straight and handsome trees : The un transplanted 
ones, on the contrary, will have strong upright lead- 
ers, which, with comparatively little trouble, may 
be made to grow perpendicularly, till they arrive at 
the height of twenty or thirty feet. 

According to the best method of propagating oak 
which has yet been practised in Scotland, that tree 
undergoes transplantation twice ; once in the nur- 
sery, and again when it is removed to its final des-- 



£06 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 



tination. In order to have the same comparative 
view of the effects of a second removal, as any one 
who is at the trouble to proceed in the experiment 
so far as is above detailed, will have of a first, take 
up one row of the transplanted oaks on the second 
March following that in which they first underwent 
the same process. Dig the ground as before, and 
again plant the oaks, each, if possible, in the very 
place in w^hich it formerly stood ; but instead of 
using a dibble, open holes with the spade of suf- 
ficient dimensions to contain the roots, which will 
now be too large to admit of the former method of 
proceeding. Set the plants in these holes, one in 
each, draw the earth over their roots, and fix them 
by treading it gently down with the foot. Few of 
the plants will go back after this second removal, in 
comparison to the number that failed the first time ; 
for oaks that have survived one transplanting are 
never in such danger from the same process after- 
wards. In other respects, the result will not be 
more encouraging than on the former occasion. Not 
only will the plants have a sickly appearance, and 
put forth little or no young wood during the ensu- 
ing summer, but many of the shoots they had made 
the preceding one will wither and die, so that their 
progress, instead of being forwarded, will rather 



EVIL OF TRANSPLANTING. 



207 



seem to be retrograde. They will not be so far re- 
stored even the following season as to appear in full 
verdure ; and two years will thus pass away without 
their making any sensible advancement. Of all 
these results I speak with confidence, because I have 
seen them exemplified, not in one solitary instance 
only, but in many during a period of fourteen years 
in which my occupation lay chiefly in the nursery. 

Some persons may object to the above experiment 
on account of the length of time it requires. In or- 
der, however, to form a tolerably correct estimate of 
the merits or demerits of transplanting, it will not 
be necessary to carry it on above three or at most 
four years. At the end of that period, the differ- 
ence between the untransplanted and transplanted 
oaks, with the legitimate inferences which may be 
drawn from that difference, will be sufficient to 
point out to the unprejudiced the impropriety of 
the common mode of culture. The intelligent ob- 
server will not merely regard the disparity of growth 
between the plants thus differently treated ; but 
the marked disparity in their manner of growth , 
He will notice, that, in the untransplanted oaks, the 
vegetative power has been chiefly exerted in produc- 
ing shoots comparatively few in number, but strong 
and upright ; while in the transplanted, the same 



208 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

power has dissipated itself in throwing out a num- 
ber of puny insignificant twigs, all in a lateral direc- 
tion, and none of them of sufficient consequence to 
take the lead in bringing up the tree. To conclude 
from such appearances that the former will not on- 
ly retain but increase the superiority which they 
have already acquired over the latter, and that they 
will ultimately become larger and more handsome 
trees, is merely the dictate of common sense. In 
the one, the sap is concentrated in the production of 
what is chiefly desirable, — straight and thriving 
stems ; in the other it is divided among a multitude 
of branches, each of which must therefore grow with 
a slowness proportioned to the scantiness of its nou- 
rishment. Nor can the skill of the pruner be ap- 
plied at a period sufficiently early to remedy these 
defects either of figure or growth ; for when the 
shoots of a plant are very small, grow collaterally, 
and are all nearly of the same size, it is impossible 
to determine, with any degree of accuracy, which it 
is most proper to preserve, and which to lop off. 
Besides, it is consistent with experience, that plants 
of any kind having received a check which obstructs 
their vegetation for more than one season, become 
hide-hound as it is termed, or, in other words, con- 
tract a disease which, without absolutely killing 



ERROKS IX PROPAGATING OAK. 



209 



them, arrests their progress, aiid keeps them station- 
ary till a cure he effected hy some artificial means. 
That transplanting, especially a second time, is fully 
adequate to induce this disease upon young oaks 
cannot be doubted, when we consider the sickly and 
languid state in which they remain for at least two 
years after undergoing the process. 

If what has now been advanced be in any mea- 
sure correct, the oak, instead of being transplanted, 
ought to be raised from the acorn in the place where 
. it is intended to remain ^. The methods of cultivat- 
ing it, therefore, which have hitherto been practised 
in Scotland, and as far as I know in other countries, 
are radically wrong. The least exceptionable of 
these is as follows : — When a piece of waste land is 
to be planted, oaks are procured from the nursery of 
from three to five years old, having been previously 
transplanted. Holes, or pits as they are termed, are 
then made with the spade, at about four feet dis- 
tance from one another ; into these the roots of the 
plants are inserted and covered with earth. Now, 

* Since writing this work, I have learned^, that the plan 
of raising oaks from the acorns, in the spots where they are in- 
tended to remain, has been recommended by authority far su- 
perior to mine, viz. by Dr Yule, in the Horticultural Memoirs, 
and by Mr Sang in the Planter's Calendar. 

O 



^10 CULTURE AXD MANAGEIMENT OF OAK, 

it is admitted that this mode of proceeding would 
be liable to few or no objections, coidd the oak, like 
the ash, beech, and elm, be transplanted without in- 
jury. The pitting system enables the planter to 
make sufficient space to contain the roots, without 
either doubling or pruning them too closely ; it 
makes the fixing of them an easy matter, and by ef- 
fectually loosening the earth, takes away any ob- 
struction which might arise from hardness to the 
pushing of fibres. It is only fair, therefore, to al- 
low, that could oaks at all bear transplantation y 
scarcely any better mode of executing it, especially 
in waste land, could be devised, than the one just 
mentioned. But if, as we have already seen, that 
operation, when performed in the most approved 
manner, is attended with the most deleterious ef- 
fects even in the nursery, the consequences follow- 
ing it in the wastes and moorlands, which are allot- 
ted to the growth of wood, let the planter do his 
utmost, are still more pernicious. Any sort of tree 
which has grown for a considerable time in rich cul- 
tivated soil, where it has been habituated, so to 
speak, with plentiful supplies of the most luxurious 
nourishment, receives a considerable check when re- 
moved to a situation where the sustenance is com- 
paratively poor and scanty. Such a change must 



ERRORS IN PROPAGATING OAK. 211 



be doubly prejudicial to oaks which, after having 
their health impaired by previous transplantation, 
have again to struggle with the evils of a second re- 
moval. We have no cause to wonder, then, that, 
when treated in this way, they often remain for 
years in a sickly condition, and, in the end, become 
. so thoroughly hide-bound, that they require to be 
lopped down to the ground, before they will put 
forth a single healthy shoot. It may be worth 
while to add here, that, from ignorance of this me- 
thod of cure, whole plantations of oak have often 
been suffered to perish. 

Besides that now described, there is another way 
of planting oaks, which has been much practised in 
Aberdeenshire and some of the neighbouring coun- 
ties, during the last twenty or thirty years. Seed- 
lings of one or two years old are used, and the plan 
of operation is as follows : — A notch is made on 
the ground with a spade, or with an instrument 
known in these districts by the name of a planting 
iron. The root of the young oak is inserted in this 
notch, which the workman then closes by a stroke of 
his heel, and thereby fixes the plant. This method 
is the cheapest of any that has ever been practised, 
and, simple as it is, answers to admiration with 
Scots fir, larch, and spruce of one or two years old. 

o 2 



212 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK, 

All these species agree well with transplanting, anci 
readily strike root, provided they be fixed in the 
earth, without requiring any peculiar delicacy of 
management. But when applied to oak, the notch- 
ing system deserves to be reprobated as in the last 
degree absurd and preposterous. The justness of this 
remark will be rendered obvious, by considering the 
process in question a little in detail. 

In the jfi?'st place, there is little waste land in 
which it is possible to make a notch deep enough to 
admit the roots of a seedling oak straight and at 
full length. It becomes necessary, therefore, either 
to double the roots, or to cut off a large portion 
from their extremities — methods which are equally 
pernicious. The former is inconsistent with the 
free growth of any plant, and the latter takes away 
from the oak the very part which, from its approach- 
ing to a fibre, is the seat of vegetation, and what 
remains is nearly in the predicament of a mere cut- 
ting or slip. 

Secondhj, The notching system leaves the ground 
exactly in its natural state without softening it, or 
creating any loose mould to encourage the produc- 
tion of new fibres. 

Thirdly^ The notches can never be so effectually 
closed as to prevent the roots from being scorched 



EUROllS IN rilOPAGATING OAK. 



1by the dryness of the weather, at the critical period 
when the plants should begin to vegetate. As far 
as regards the fir tribes this is of little importance, 
as they commence growing at a season so early that 
their roots have taken firm hold of the earth before 
the drought has become so intense as to do them 
any material injury. But the oak, late of vegetat- 
ing under any circumstances, is peculiarly so after 
being transplanted ; and the droughts of May, and 
the beginning of June, if admitted to its roots, will 
have them completely dried up before the plant has 
had time to put forth a single leaf. 

There is no reason to seek the causes why oaks 
should not thrive when treated thus, in any other 
quarter than the treatment itself. When we consi- 
der the antipathy they have to being transplanted, 
and, at the same time, weigh the glaring defects of 
the process just described, the want of success which 
has attended it is thoroughly explained. It is a 
process, in fact, which, with regard to oaks, is scarce- 
ly less calculated to ensure destruction than if the 
tops of the plants were put into the earth, and their 
inverted roots exposed above ground, to be bleached 
in the rains, and withered to pulverization in the 
sunshine and the breeze. 

Transplanting (especially when conducted on such 



214 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

wretched principles as those of the notching system, 
may be considered as the chief, but it is not the 
only, error in the present mode of cultivating oak. 
Second to it, and only a few degrees inferior in pro- 
ducing bad effects, is to be reckoned the almost uni- 
versal neglect of providing shelter for the young 
plants. The want of this causes them, in every si- 
tuation, to grow extremely slow, and in very high 
grounds often entirely destroys them. All kinds of 
wood grow better when sheltered than when fully 
exposed to the unmitigated severity of the weather, 
and unbroken force of the winds. This is proved 
by the fact, that neither do single trees, nor those 
planted in clumps, in hedge-rows, or in belts, though 
upon equal terms with regard to soil, ever thrive so 
well as those in plantations of some extent. Even 
in the latter, the outside trees are always more stint- 
ed than the interior ones, a circumstance which 
shows in the plainest manner the advantages of pro- 
tection from the wind, and the evils that arise from 
exposure. 

If, then, it may be said with regard to forest trees 
in general, that they are nursed by shelter, and in- 
jured by the want of it, the same proposition is more 
emphatically true in the particular case of the oak. 
Its leaves and young shoots are, when they make 



EllROllS IN PROPAGATING OAK. 



215 



their first appearance, extremely tender. The for- 
mer are subject to be blackened and shrivelled in 
the blast ; the latter are brittle, and break like ice. 
Both are very liable to be bitten by frost ; the leaves 
in spring, the shoots both in spring and autumn. It 
is only, therefore, where oaks are well sheltered from 
the inclemency of the weather that they grow with 
any tolerable quickness : " The epithet hardy," says 
PoNTEY, *' has been so constantly applied to the 
oak, that what is only true of the wood^ is generally 
believed of the vegetable ; hence we very naturally 
overlook the real treatment to which inattention 
exposes it. But certainly the season in which it ve- 
getates, or the circumstance of its first shoots being 
frequently destroyed by frosts late in May, exhibits 
no proofs of hardiness; and the same may be gathered 
from the woodman's remark, that the bark isfrequent- 
ly difficult to take off in cool weather. Nor does its 
being found upon very cold exposures prove the 
fact, but much to the contrary. " The starveling 
oak upon the mountain's brow" is almost prover- 
bial ; it will live, but can never thrive in such a si- 
tuation. The truth is, that the plant requires a 
considerable portion of warmth, not only to put its 
juices in motion, but to keep them so ; as is proved 
by its appearance and progress in different degree^« 



^16 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

of elevation. The contrast between the plants pro- 
duced in the extremes of shelter and exposure is 
indeed striking, every thing being different but the 
form of the leaves. On the whole, little is hazarded 
in asserting, that an indifferent soil, properly shel- 
tered, is capable of producing more oak timber than 
a good one without this advantage." Pontey's 
Forest Prune?\ p. 245. 

A third error or defect which deserves particular 
notice in the common mode of treating oak, is ne- 
gligence in pruning it. In order to have valuable 
timber, it is necessary that the strength of the sap 
should be conducted to one stem, and that this 
stem should be trained up as clean, and to as great 
a height, as possible. This, however, can seldom be 
effected without the aid of artificial means. The 
knife of the pruner must be skilfully as well as 
timeously applied. The natural tendency of every 
tree is to throw out a number of lateral shoots, 
while they can seldom be rendered useful as timber. 
Rob the leader of its due aliment, and, instead of a 
tree, a mere bush is produced, or a weighty over- 
grown top, with scarce any length of bole. Trans- 
planted oaks are particularly subject to grow in this 
way, w^hen they grow at all ; and not to prune them, 
is a great aggravation of the bad treatment they 



ERRORS IN PROPAGATING OAK. 



217 



have already received. It causes them, when they 
happen to arrive at any considerable height, to exhi- 
bit the appearance of gigantic shrubs, rather than 
trees, and their v^ood is so worthless, from its small- 
ness, that the proprietor sells them at little less than 
their full value, when he receives for them the price 
of their bark. 

Oaks in this country are seldom planted alone ; 
they are for the most part intermixed with other 
trees. In this state they are often spoiled by the 
plantations being too much crowded, an evil which 
ought to be remedied by timely thinning. Here I 
wish it to be understood, that I by no means disap- 
prove of planting other trees, especially the Scots 
fir and the larch, along with oaks. On the contrary, 
even when the latter are intended to be the princi- 
pal crop, the ground should be well filled with either 
or both of the former, and that for several years, 
before the oaks are planted. This, in fact, is the 
only means, in exposed situations, of providing the 
requisite shelter. What I here find fault with is, 
that proper care is not taken to thin out these less 
valuable kinds, when their branches have become so 
large as to overhang the oaks, or exclude the sup- 
plies of air necessary to preserve them in a healthy 
state. This negligence is the more to be blamed. 



218 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

when we consider that the thinnings of woods, even 
when of the minimum age at which the operation is 
required, generally do more than cover the expense. 
Were it not that it might be deemed invidious, I 
could mention many plantations in which the oaks, 
after having overcome every other kind of bad manage- 
ment, have been ruined by want of thinning alone. 

The errors which have now been pointed out, ac- 
count, it is hoped sufficiently, for the difficulty that 
has been found in raising oak in Scotland, and the 
consequent scarcity of that valuable species of tim- 
ber, without having recourse to a theory so totally 
irreconcileable with known facts, as that our soil and 
climate are not capable of producing it ; firsts It is 
subjected in its very infancy to a mode of treatment 
which nature has not qualified it to bear ; secondly, 
It is not provided with shelter ; tJiirdly, The prun- 
ing of it is generally neglected ; and, in the Jhut^th 
place. It is often suffocated, by allowing thickets of 
other trees to deprive it of the necessary supplies of 
air. Some of these misfortunes, indeed, on the im- 
perfect system of raising wood now practised in 
Scotland, are common to the oak with all its bre- 
thren of the forest. But the evils which it suffers 
from transplantation are peculiar to itself, and it sus- 
tains more damage from exposure than any other 



ERRORS IN PROPAGATING OAK. 



219 



tree which we attempt to cultivate in the wilds and 
moorlands of our northern clime. That we should, 
therefore, find it slower and more shy of growth than 
the ash, the heech, the elm, the Scots fir, or the 
larch, is a circumstance sufficiently explained hy our 
mode of treating it. The two last named species are 
justly deemed the hardiest, and the most easily 
reared of any we possess ; yet, attempt to transplant 
them after they are six or seven years old, a period 
at which their roots become strong, woody, and des- 
titute of small fibres, and the result will be as dis- 
couraging as ever was the case in making a planta- 
tion of oak. Our error has all along been, that we 
have treated the oak in precisely the same manner 
as other trees, from which it differs essentially in 
nature. Let us alter the treatment, so as to make 
it correspond with this difference, and there is not 
the slightest doubt, but our attempts to raise in our 
native woods the true material for building our fleets 
and navies, will be as encouraging as they have hi- 
therto proved unsuccessful. 



( 2W ) 



SECTION III. 
NEAV METHOD OF HEARING OAK DESCRIBED. 

Having, in the former section, pointed out at 
some length the defects of the common method of 
rearing the oakj I now proceed to lay before my 
readers a sketch of a system which I have myself in- 
vented, and which, from experience, I venture to 
recommend as is entirely free from the defects in 
question. 

When land is to be planted with oaks, the first 
care of the proprietor ought always to be to provide 
shelter. To effect this, the ground must be well 
filled with Scots firs or larches, or, what is still bet- 
ter, with a proportion of both. The Scots firs ought 
to be two, and the larches either one or two, years 
old at the time of planting, which operation ought 
to be performed on the notching system already de- 
scribed ; this being both the cheapest and most ex- 
peditious way of executing the work. The ground 
is to be fenced, and receive whatever other previous 
preparation it may require, according to the direc- 



NEW METHOD OF KEARiNG OAK. 221 



tioiis laid down in chapter sixth, every thing being 
conducted as if the Scots firs and larches were to be 
the principal or only crops. The plants are to be 
put in at the distance of four feet from each other, 
so that four thousand of them will be required for a 
Scots acre, and the expense will amount to from 15s. 
to 20s. for that extent of land. Care must be ta- 
ken to leave regular avenues of the kind already de- 
scribed through the plantation. No oaks, or rather 
no acorns, are to be planted, until the Scots firs and 
larches have risen to the height of about four feet from 
the ground, when they will be in a condition to af- 
ford complete shelter to every thing lower than 
themselves. To attain that size, they will require 
from four to seven years, according to the quality of 
the soil. 

The practice of planting nurses, as they are called, 
to afford shelter to oak, has sometimes been adopted 
even in the old system ; but generally on a plan es- 
sentially different from that now recommended. In- 
stead of the nurses being planted several years be- 
fore the oaks, it has been common to plant them at 
the same time. By this means, the oaks have no 
efficient shelter for several seasons ; and, during that 
period, they receive so much damage as to have the 
effect of impeding their growth for many years, even 



222 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

after the nurses have attained a size to be of service 
to them. But, by not planting the oaks till the 
Scots firs and larches are tall enough to yield mi- 
mediate shelter, the plants will be protected from 
the very first, not only from the violence of the 
winds, but from the still more injurious frosts, which 
often prevail late in spring, and early in autumn, 
destroying incipient vegetation at the one season, 
and killing the unripened shoots at the other. 

The manner in which the nurses will screen the 
young oaks from the force of the winds, will be easily 
understood by every reader ; but it may not appear so 
evident how the frosts, which fall perpendicularly 
downwards, can be warded off by the same means. 
To explain this, it may be necessary to state, that 
the deleterious effects of spring and autumnal frosts, 
arise chiefly from the leaves being subjected to a 
sudden change of temperature, from the freezing 
chill of the night to the strong heat of the 
rays of the morning sun. When the thaw takes 
place gradually, the injury done is comparatively 
insignificant. Several undoubted proofs of this 
can be adduced. Agriculturists have found by 
long experience, that their crops are never so much 
hurt by frost, when the sun rises clouded, and rain 
succeeds, as when the night is followed by a morn- 

4 



NEW METHOD OF IlEARINa OAK. 223 



ing of bright sunshine. And it always holds good, 
that corn which is shaded from the first rays by 
wood or otherwise, is never so much injured as that 
in other parts of the same field. The late Reverend 
I)r Skene Keith, in his Agricultural Survey of 
Aberdeenshire, recommends that, in situations much 
exposed to autumnal frosts, belts of trees should be 
planted along the east side of the field, to ward off 
the early rays of the sun. " In many cases," says 
that writer, " the rays of the morning sun may be 
with propriety excluded, by a belt of plantation in 
the east. For though these are friendly to an early 
harvest, yet in an unfavourable or late season, if a 
mildew or rain in the evening be succeeded by frost 
at night, and if the sun dart his rays in the morn- 
ing on the wet corn, when in flower, or on the 
peas, beans or potatoes, before they are fully ripe, 
the effects are generally fatal. The only remedy, 
namely, that of two persons going very early with a 
rope, between the furrows of a ridge, and shaking off 
the rain or dews, cannot be practised on a large 
scale ; though it may save the potato crop of the 
industrious cottager to know this, and put it in 
practice, when he sees the hoar-frost in the morning. 
A more permanent remedy is to have a small belt of 
planting on the east, to prevent the sun's rays from 



224 CULTURE x\ND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

injuring the crop, which is usually dry before the sun 
appears in the south-east ; for the clanger is over as 
soon as the moisture of the night is dried up."— 
(Agricultural Survey of AherdeeriHhire.) 

If we wish, then, to preserve oaks from frost, we 
can do nothing better than shade them from the 
morning sun. This we cannot do more effectually 
than by planting them, as above directed, among 
trees that have already made some progress. By 
such management, the rays of the sun will not touch 
them till he has risen a considerable height above 
the horizon, and thus time will be allowed for the 
frost to dissipate, and the night-damps to evaporate, 
by a slow and gradual process, so that the pernicious 
consequences arising to the young oaks from a sud- 
den change of temperature, will be entirely prevent- 
ed. It is not too much to say, that a plantation of 
young oaks thus sheltered from the outset will 
make more progress in five than an unsheltered 
one will do in ten years. 

The plan here proposed may at first sight seem 
objectionable, on account of the expense ; but a 
little reflection will demonstrate, that a proprietor, 
instead of incurring loss by pursuing it, will realise 
a very considerable profit. Two thousand of the 
Scots firs and larches may be allowed to remain, not 



NEW METHOD OF REARING OAK. 



225 



only without injury, but with advantage to the oaks, 
till they are sixteen years old. One-half of them 
being then cut down, they will be worth at an ave- 
rage at least twopence each, for spars, paling, &;c. 
Of the remaining thousand, one-half will require to 
be cut at twenty-five years old, when they will be 
fit for roofs to cottages, and similar purposes, and will 
be worth, on the most moderate calculation, one 
shilling a piece. The last five hundred may be al- 
lowed to grow till they are from thirty to thirty-five 
years old, and will be then so much increased in 
size, and ameliorated in quality, as to bring from 
two to five shillings each. To plant nurses, there- 
fore, is attended with very great pecuniary advan- 
tage. It will not only return the whole expense laid 
out in making the plantation, but produce a very 
high rent for the land during the first thirty or thir- 
ty-five years ; whereas, if oaks alone were planted, 
nothing could be gained during this period except by 
cutting them down, when between twenty and 
twenty-five years old, for the sake of their bark. 

When Scots firs and larches are planted purpoi^e- 
ly as nurses for oak, it would be a mere loss of time 
to delay in planting the latter, after the former have 
risen to the height of four feet, because they will then 

afford complete shelter both from the winds and 

p 



£26 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

frosts. For the sake, however, of those who have 
plantations of these trees in a state of farther ad- 
vancement, it is proper to remark, that the oaks will 
answer whatever be the height of the nurses, pro- 
vided their branches have not become so close as to 
shut out the air from above. This can always be 
remedied by thinning, an operation which a planta- 
tion, in this state, always requires for its own sake, 
independently of other considerations. 

Some places occur which afford natural shelter. 
Such, for example, are deep ravines, valleys sur- 
rounded by high mountains, and the steep banks of 
rivulets and streams. In situations of this kind, 
oaks may be planted successfully without being at 
the trouble of first rearing other trees to nurse them. 
A deep cover of furze or broom makes likewise an 
excellent shelter, till the young trees are so far ad- 
vanced as to be a safeguard to one another. The 
planting of oak on ground so covered is a practice 
much to be recommended. 

Having said thus much on shelter, I now proceed 
to discuss the method of planting, or, to speak more 
correctly, of sowing ; for, in order to avoid the fatal 
consequences of transplantation, the seeds or acorns 
are to be put into the ground instead of young 
plants. "For the reception of the acorns then, let 



NEW METHOD OF REARING OAK. 



227 



the following preparations be made : — Mark off a 
patch of two feet square, notch it round with the 
spade, and trench it a foot deep, using an earth-pick 
or mattock if the hardness of the ground require it, 
and throwing out all large stones. Proceed in this 
manner till the requisite number of patches be form- 
ed, letting them be about ten feet distance from one 
another, by which means there will be a few more 
than five hundred of them in the superfices of a 
Scots acre. In land which is very stony, it will be 
sometimes impracticable to make the distances be- 
tween them completely regular ; but this is a mat- 
ter of Httle importance, provided the inequalities be 
not great, and nearly balance each other ; where pos- 
sible, however, it is proper that exact regularity be 
observed. When Scots firs and larches have been 
purposely raised on the ground for shelter, they will 
occasionally interfere with the distance between the 
patches. When this happens, the inconvenience 
may always be obviated by rooting up a single plant; 
but let the expedient be adopted as seldom as pos- 
sible, for if the nurses be only of the height above 
specified, there will not be the slightest necessity fot 
thinning them, in order to admit the air. What- 
ever be the age of the plantation, if the patches be 
not overshadowed by the lower tier of branches, the 

p 2 



228 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

trees are, as far as regards planting oaks among 
them, sufficiently thin. This may be laid down as 
a rule which has no exception. In making these 
patches among furze or broom, no more of either 
should be cut than is absolutely necessary to make 
room for working the spade. 

The patches being prepared, the next labour will 
be to plant the acorns. Before proceeding to this, 
get some lime in readiness, shake it thoroughly with 
water, in the same manner as is customary when it 
is to be used for agricultural purposes, and spread as 
much of it as can be lifted on a common spade upon 
each patch. Then dig it in, neatly levelling the 
ground. As soon as a patch is thus prepared, plant 
in it five acorns, one as nearly as possible in the 
centre, and the other fom* forming a square of a foot 
each side around it, and cover them an inch deep 
with earth. Proceed thus till the whole be planted. 
To avoid deception from bad acorns, put them in 
small quantities, before they are used, into a tub of 
water. All of them that are sound \vill sink to the 
bottom, the others will swim on the surface, and are 
to be skimmed off and rejected. I recommend five 
to be put into each patch, because that is the most 
that will find room for two years without being too 
much crowded ; for though one plant only will be 

1 



NEW METHOD OF REARING OAK. 229 

ultimately required, it is necessary to make provi- 
sion against the ravages of mice, which being very 
fond of acorns, will devour many of them in the in- 
terval between the time of sowing and that of coming 
up. Besides, accidents may happen to the young 
plants, which are easily broken when they newly ap- 
pear above ground, and the hares will in all proba- 
bility injure some of them the first and second win- 
ters, by stripping off the bark from their tender 
branches. As a safeguard against all these casual- 
ties, it is proper to plant as many acorns in each 
square or patch as can conveniently grow for the first 
two years. The cost of the acorns is so trifling, that 
the waste of them hereby incurred hardly deserves 
notice. 

The most proper season for sowing them is the 
last week of March, or beginning of April. They 
may, indeed, be put into the ground in February ; 
but, by this, nothing is to be gained, as, in this 
country, there is little vegetation before April ; and 
when seeds lie long in the ground before they ger- 
minate, they are liable to rot or be otherwise injured. 
The earlier, too, that acorns are sown, the more they 
are exposed to the depredations of mice. 

The lime which I have directed to be put upon 
the patches, is not to be considered as an absolutely 



^30 CULTUllE AND MANAGEMENT aE OAK. 

indispensable ingredient in this method of planting, 
but the expense of it is so trifling (as a boll of un- 
slaked lime will serve an acre), and it adds so much 
to the growth of the plants, that there is a very 
great advantage in using it. This manure, indeed, 
imparts no new strength to the soil, but it quickens 
it, brings its latent powers into action, and has 
a very great effect in accelerating vegetation. It is 
peculiarly favourable to young trees, of every des- 
cription, by swelling and opening the land, it there- 
by makes way for the young fibres, and enables them 
to collect and decompose the nourishment, which is 
naturally inherent in the soil. Here it may be ne- 
cessary to remark, that it is not advisable to use 
dung for this purpose. It operates in a manner 
quite different from lime, imparting a positive nou- 
rishment of its own, which is very different both in 
strength and quality from what is naturally con- 
tained in the land, especially in such land as that 
in which wood is commonly raised. It is this that 
torms the objection against applying it to oaks. The 
plants would subsist on it as long as its strength re- 
mained, and grow luxuriantly, but that strength 
being exhausted, they would have henceforth to live 
on a much poorer and quite different kind of nou- 
rishment ; so that,^ in the end, they would be pre- 



NEW METHOD OF HEARING OAK. 2131 

cisely in the same circumstances as if they had been 
first raised in the nursery, and then transported in- 
to barren land, a change that is always attended 
with very fatal effects. Lime, therefore, which may 
be said to act negatively, as it imparts no new source 
of vegetation, but merely resuscitates the native 
powers of the soil, which lie dormant, is the only 
manure that can with propriety be given. It assists 
the plants, when young, to collect from the ground 
precisely the same kind of nourishment which^ after 
their roots are become stronger, they will be able to 
seek for themselves. There are situations, however, 
in which it would be impossible to procure lime ; in 
such, the acorns may be planted without it, though 
this should only be done in cases of absolute neces- 
sity. 

In plantations where regular avenues have been 
left, the lime can easily be laid down, so as to create 
little trouble in its distribution. It should be emp- 
tied here and there in cart loads, within these ave- 
nues, the sod being pared off from the surface of the 
ground, in the necessary places, to prevent any loss 
in taking it up. A broad shallow tub, or an ebb- 
square box, made for the purpose, and placed on a 
hand-barrow, is then to be used by two labourers, 
for transporting the lime to its final destination. 



232 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

They are to take it from the tub or box in spade- 
fulls, and spread it carefully on the patches. If the 
cart loads can be emptied in situations tolerably con- 
venient, two workmen will lime 3000 patches, or as 
many as six acres contain, in a day ; or if they dig 
in the lime as it is laid on, they will prepare 1000, 
or as many as are contained in two acres, for the re- 
ception of the acorns in the same time. 

When the acorns are planted, they will give no 
more trouble for two years. At the end of that pe- 
riod, it is likely that in most of the patches, after 
all accidents, more than a single plant will remain. 
It will, therefore, be necessary to go over them, tak- 
ing away all the supernumeraries. If there be a plant 
from the acorn that was planted in the centre, it 
ought to be left, if equally thriving with the rest ; 
but it is not to be preferred if any of the others are 
bigger or more healthy. The utmost care must be 
taken, that the plant which is spared have not its 
roots injured, or in the least degree slackened byre- 
moving its companions. The best method of exe- 
cuting the work, therefore, will be by means of a 
knife, made for the purpose, with a long haft. The 
blade of this instrument is to be thrust down close 
by the side of the plants to be removed, and their 
roots cut two or three inches below the surface of 



NEW METHOD OF REARING OAK. 



233 



the ground. They may be then pulled up by the 
hand without the least injury to those that remain, 
which would not be the case were a spade or any 
large tool used to slacken them. Cutting above the 
surface would not answer, as the plants would grow 
anew ; so that the operation, instead of being finish- 
ed at once, would require to be repeated every year. 
The method I have recommended will, of course, 
render the plants taken up useless ; but this is of 
no importance, if it is admitted, according to what 
has been said, that oaks ought never to be trans- 
planted, but raised wherever they are required im- 
mediately from acorns. One man will be able to 
clear away all the unnecessary plants in the manner 
here proposed, from several acres in a day. 

At the same time that this work is performed, 
notice must be taken that the nurses have in no 
instance extended their branches so far, since the 
oaks were planted, as to interfere with the latter. 
Wherever this is the case, the offending tree, whe- 
ther Scots fir or larch, must be immediately cut 
down. This is to be done as often as is necessary, 
which will not be above once every two or three 
years. It has been already stated that, if the lower 
tier of branches does not touch nor overshadow the 
oaks, there is no use for thinning, as more air than 



234 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 



can thus have access would rather check the growth 
of the plants than do them good. If this rule is ob- 
served, all the Scots firs and larches that will require 
to be taken out before they are sixteen years old, 
will not render the plantation thinner than a thriv- 
ing one of the same kind of trees would, for its own 
sake, need to be at twenty years after planting. 

When the oaks are five years old, it will be time 
to give them their first pruning. As the way in 
which that process should be executed is fully de- 
tailed under the article bearing the same name, it is 
unnecessary to enlarge upon it here, farther than to 
observe that the operation ought to be repeated once 
every two years, till the oaks be between twenty and 
thirty years old. 

Thus have I endeavoured to describe as briefly, 
but, at the same time, as perspicuously as possible, 
my method of raising the oak. Of its efficacy, the 
experiments I have made (an account of which shall 
be, in the next section, laid before the reader), have 
left no doubt on my mind. I am firmly established 
in the conviction, that whoever puts the above di- 
rections in practice upon any soil that will bear a 
good crop of Scots firs or of larches, will find the 
oak not more difficult to rear, and very little slower 
in growth, than either of those hardy kinds of trees. 



NEW METHOD OF HEARING OAK. 235 

In the present mode of cultivating it, the person 
who plants scarce ever lives to see it arrive at a bulk 
large enough to render its timber useful for any of 
the purposes for which oak is required ; but let it 
be treated according to the above directions, and in 
thirty or thirty-five years after the acorn is put into 
the ground, the tree will be in a state of maturity 
to qualify it, — not perhaps for becoming the princi- 
pal timbers of a large ship, — but at least for boat- 
building, and all the lighter and more minute parts 
of naval architecture. 

There is another advantage not to be overlooked, 
which this way of planting oaks has above the com- 
mon or old system, namely, cheapness. To say no- 
thing of the Scots firs and larches planted as nurses, 
which, as we have already seen, will, at no very dis- 
tant period, return a considerable profit, the most 
expensive part of the process is the trenching of the 
patches or squares. As, however, only 500 of them 
are required in an acre (this number being amply 
sufficient in a mode of planting where there is no 
danger of the plants failing after they appear above 
ground), the expense, for that extent, will not ex- 
ceed nine shillings, if the ground is not more than 
usually stony ; that is, at the rate of one shilling 
and threepence per fall; and the same measure of 



2S6 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 



barren land is often trenched as low as a shilling. 
The expense of the lime for an acre will be about 
three shillings, of the acorns one shilling, and of the 
planting, including spreading and digging in of the 
lime, about three shillings more ; so that the total 
expense will not exceed sixteen shillings per acre. 
This must be allowed to be remarkably cheap, com- 
pared with the common way of planting in pits. 
Oaks planted in this way, without nurses, and many 
of them liable to go back from the effects of trans- 
plantation, cannot, with propriety, be kept at a 
greater distance from one another than four, or, at 
most, four feet and a half. Between 3000 and 4000 of 
them, therefore, will be required for every acre ; and 
if they are, as they should be, at least five years old, 
and have been transplanted in the nursery, the price 
will not fall short of two pounds per thousand. Here 
is an expense of from six to eight pounds per acre, 
for plants alone, besides the cost of making the pits 
and of planting the oaks, which together, will fall 
little short of twenty shillings more. The expense 
of planting oaks on the plan now proposed and ex- 
plained, is, therefore, in no higher a ratio to that of 
the common system, than one to nine ; that is, an 
acre of land can be planted with acorns at one ninth 
part of the expense at which the same extent can 



NEW METHOD OF REARING OAK. 



2S7 



be planted with 3000 oaks five years old. This cal- 
culation, too, is made in round numbers, which ren- 
ders the difference of the ratio considerably less 
than it would be by reckoning the fraction. 

By adopting certain modifications in the manner 
of planting the acorns, the expense of the process 
may be rendered still lower than that stated above. 
Instead of trenching the patches, and making them 
tw^o feet square, they may be only dug so deep as is 
practicable on account of stones, and their area re- 
duced to a square foot, or one fourth part of the 
dimensions which have been formerly recommended. 
The cost will thus be reduced in the ratio of five or 
six to one, and still the system will be attended 
with far greater success than can be attained by 
pursuing the method of which w^e have so often 
had occasion to speak in terms of disapprobation. 
Such modifications, however, will deprive the sys- 
tem of many of its advantages, and ten times the 
money that they save in the outset will be ultimate- 
ly lost. 



2SS CULTUilE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 



SECTION IV. 

ACCOUNT OF EXPERIMENTS ILLLTSTRATIVE OF THE 
ADVANTAGES OF THE METHOD OF RAISING OAK, 
EXPLAINED IN THE FOREGOING SECTION. 

The first of these experiments was attended with 
the following circumstances and results, and was 
made in the year 1821. 

A considerable extent of waste land had been 
planted in 1810, with larches, Scots firs, and oaks ; 
two thousand of the first two kinds, and as many 
of the -last having been allowed to the Scots acre. 
The oaks had been treated exactly in the common 
mode. The soil being of rather a favourable quality, 
the Scots firs and larches had, at eleven years of 
age, that is to say in 1821, attained a considerable 
height, and exhibited a remarkably thriving appear- 
ance. The oaks were in a very different state. A 
great number of them had entirely disappeared, and 
the remainder were scarcely two feet taller than at 
the time they had been planted, and appeared very 
weak and sickly. As is usual on such occasions, 
the soil was blamed, and considered incapable of 



NEW METHOD OF REAIUNG OAK. 



239 



producing oak. As I had formed an opinion be- 
fore this period, that failures of oak plantations pro- 
ceeded, in general, rather from the badness of the 
culture than the soil, I now determined to prove 
the truth or falsehood of my surmises by an experi- 
ment. In the month of January, I trenched, within 
this plantation, four patches or beds, each three feet 
long by two feet broad. Two of the beds were 
limed, the others received no kind of manure. 1 
then procured some acorns, as well as some seedling 
oaks, from a nursery in Aberdeen. Two of the beds, 
one limed and one unlimed, I planted with acorns ; 
the other two, one of which was likewise limed and 
one unlimed, I planted with seedling oaks. This 
experiment was calculated to decide two things 
the effects of liming, and the comparative merits 
of transplanting, or of raising immediately from 
the acorn. At the end of the first summer, the 
transplanted oaks had made, as usual, very little 
progress, either in the limed or unlimed bed, but 
the former seemed to be in a healthier condition 
than the latter. The seedlings raised from the 
acorns were in both cases very fine plants ; but in 
them the good effects of the lime were abundantly 
evident, those in the limed bed being stouter, as well 
as taller, than those in the other. Next summer the 

2 



240 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

four beds exhibited as many diiTerent degrees of for- 
wardness. The plants from the acorns in the limed 
bed had some of them made shoots of eighteen 
inches long ; the largest growths made by those in 
the other bed were several inches shorter ; the 
transplanted oaks in the limed bed had not grown 
half so much as the last mentioned, but w^ere percep- 
tibly before their brethren that had received no ma- 
nure. The most forward of the transplanted oaks, 
therefore, though they had a year's advantage in age, 
were now far behind the most backward of the others. 

Having sown the acorns too thick, it was neces- 
sary, in order to carry on the experiment, to thin 
them when they were two years old. This I ac- 
cordingly did, leaving only four of the best plants in 
each bed. Though the transplanted ones, from 
their having grown less than the others, were not 
too much crowded, yet to give them equal justice, 
so that there might be nothing doubtful in their 
final result, I thinned them out to the same dis- 
tances. The third summer exhibited the same re- 
spective differences in the growth of the plants, as 
the preceding one had done. Of those raised in 
their present situation from acorns, the limed ones 
grew most ; those in tiie unlimed bed were next in 
order ; the limed transplanted were third in the 



NEW METHOD OF RDARING OAK. 241 

scale ; and the last place was held by the trans- 
planted ones, in the bed which had received no lime. 
The summer of 1825 was the last in which I had 
an opportunity of attending to the growth of these 
plants. They were then live years old, and the 
difference of progress which had been made each 
year, by the plants in the respective beds, rendered 
the diversity of their size palpable and striking. 
The oaks raised from acorns in the limed bed ex- 
ceeded the height of those which had been raised in 
the same manner, but without lime, a full foot, and 
were as tall as ever I remember to have seen Scots 
firs of the same age. The plants in the unlimed 
acorn-bed were on an average eighteen inches taller 
than the most forward transplanted ones, namely 
those to which lime had been applied ; and these last 
were from six to eight inches further forward than 
the transplanted ones which had not had the ad- 
vantage of manure. I observed, however, with re- 
gard to those which had made the least progress^ 
that they were farther advanced than any I had 
ever seen treated in a similar manner in other re- 
spects, but without the benefit of shelter. 

This experiment was, as I have already said, be- 
gun in the year 1821. In order to avoid interrup- 
tion, I have, as yet, taken no notice of three subse- 

Q 



CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

quent experiments, conducted on precisely similar 
principles, and begun respectively in the years 18^2, 
1823, and 1824. The results of these corresponded 
exactly with the above. The oaks raised from acorns 
got the start of the transplanted ones the second 
year, in every instance ; and, so long as I had an op- 
portunity of observing them, added to the superio- 
rity thus acquired, each succeeding season. The 
lime, too, had the same salutary effects as in the 
first experiment. 

I have laid these results before the reader, not 
only for the sake of convincing him, that, in the in- 
novations I have proposed, I have not been under 
the guidance of vague and uncertain theory, but to 
point out to him an easy way of putting the merits 
of these innovations to the proof. Any person who 
wishes to have ocular demonstration of the truth of 
what I have advanced, before he ventures to put my 
plan in execution, on a large scale, may repeat my 
experiments at the expense of a few shillings, and a 
very moderate share of trouble. 

There is, however, one peculiarity of my system, 
which the foregoing experiments do not illustrate. 
I have not only directed that the oak should be 
raised immediately from the acorn, without the in- 
tervention of transplanting, and that lime should be 



NEW METHOD OF HEARING OAK. 24.^ 

applied to promote its early growth, but that care 
should be taken to provide it with shelter from the 
very first, to protect it, when young, from the rigour 
of the winds and frosts. The experiments I have 
mentioned w^re all performed in fir plantations of a 
considerable age, so that they furnish no data by 
which to judge of the comparative progress of oaks, 
in and out of shelter. At the time of making 
them, I had no opportunity of trying similar ones 
in open ground ; nor did I deem this of much con- 
sequence, as observation had, long before, convinced 
me, that shelter has a very powerful effect in pro- 
moting the growth of wood of every kind ; and that 
nothing is more prejudicial to the growth of trees 
in general than much exposure. With regard to the 
oak, in particular, the fact, that its young shoots are 
extremely apt to be injured by spring and autum- 
nal frosts and mildews, is sufficient of itself to justify 
the assertion, that, to afford this tree shelter when 
young, is a powerful means of accelerating its pro- 
gress. Lest, however, any of my readers should re- 
quire some specific illustration of the point, I shall 
adduce an example, which fell under my notice se- 
veral years ago, and which has all the force of an 
experiment purposely made. Nine or ten years be- 
fore the period to which I allude, a gentleman, 

Q 2 



244 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

having on his estate a piece of ground entirely 
overgrown with luxuriant furze, determined to plant 
it with oaks. By way of preparing the ground for 
the reception of the plants, he ordered the furze to 
be rooted out and carried away. About five- sixths 
of the land was thus actually cleared, but the re- 
mainder was still in its original state, when the 
planters overtook the labourers employed in remo- 
ving the furze. The spring being far advanced, it 
was judged inexpedient to stop the planting, till 
the latter had completed their job, and the uncleared 
part of the ground was accordingly planted like the 
other. When I examined this plantation, I found 
that many of the oaks had gone back throughout 
the whole of it, but that more of them compara- 
tively had done so where the whins had been al- 
lowed to remain, than where they had been grubbed 
up and carried away. This was, no doubt, caused 
by the planters having found their work more diffi- 
cult to execute in the thick cover, than on the open 
ground, and therefore performing it in a less perfect 
manner, in order to complete a stated quantity in a 
given time. But however this may be, the surviving 
plants among the whins, where they had been pro- 
tected from the winds and frosts at the first outset, 
were much farther advanced than those where the 



NEW METHOD OF REARING OAK. 2!45 



<;over had been destroyed. I measured a number of 
each carefully, and found that the former had, on 
an average, grown three times as much as the latter. 
Nor was there the least ground for ascribing this 
disparity to any difference in the quality of the 
soil ; for I examined it^ and found it of the same 
nature throughout the whole piece of ground. 
There, in fact, appeared to be no cause of the su- 
periority of the one over the other, but the shelter 
afforded by^the whins which had not been destroyed. 

I hasten to conclude this section, by observing, 
that the principal features of the plan of rearing 
oak I have been recommending, are countenanced 
by no less respectable authority than that of Nature 
herself. We have already had occasion to prove, 
that, in ancient times, this tree grew plentifully in 
Scotland, and we are certain that our old forests 
were never planted by the hands of man. Our an- 
cestors, five hundred or a thousand years ago, had 
acquired no taste for making improvements ; and a 
feudal chieftain of those ages would have been as 
easily persuaded to relinquish any of his personal or 
hereditary feuds, as to plant trees on his estate. 
But, if the ancient oak forests of Scotland were na- 
tural, as it is allowed on all hands they were, we 
are sure that every tree of them grew to maturity 



246 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

in the identical spot where the acorn, from which 
it sprung, first germinated ; for, though Nature of- 
ten sows, she transplants none. She never provides 
one place for the tender plant, and another for the 
full grown tree ; her nursery and woodland are the 
same. To raise oaks, therefore, immediately from 
the acorns, in the places where they are intended to 
come to maturity, instead of transplanting them 
from the nursery, is merely to imitate Nature. And, 
whatever may be said wdth regard to the primeval, 
or first oaks, that grew in Scotland, which were pro- 
bably decayed before the country began to be peo- 
pled, we are sure that their descendants, — those gi- 
gantic trees which furnished materials for our an- 
cient Gothic buildings, and those which still re- 
main entire, though prostrate, in our peat-mosses 
and bogs, — sprung up amidst the depth of sur- 
rounding woods, where they were completely shel- 
tered, from the time they first appeared above 
ground, till their towering height had surmounted 
all the humbler and more ignoble tribes of the 
forest. 



( 247 ) 



SECTION V. 

DIRECTIONS FOR REARING SUCCESSION CROPS OF 
OAK, AND FOR THE RECOVERY OF YOUNG OAKS 
IN A SICKLY OR UNTHRIVING CONDITION. 

If five hundred oaks are planted in an acre, in 
the manner which has been recommended, they will 
require to be thinned after the nurses are cut down ; 
for in a tolerably favourable soil, not more than one 
hundred will have room to come to full maturity in 
this extent of ground. General directions for thin- 
ning are given at another place ; but the importance 
of the oak, as well as certain traits in its nature pe- 
culiar to itself, will require a few remarks on the 
process in relation to it individually. Before pro- 
ceeding to these, however, it may be as well to an- 
ticipate an objection which might here be put by 
the reader in some such form as the following: 

Since, if we plant five hundred oaks in an acre, 
they will afterwards require to be thinned, till only 
one hundred are left, would it not be better to plant 
only the last-mentioned quantity, and thus save a 
considerable share both of trouble and expense?" 



24!8 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

In answer to this, it may be remarked, that five 
hundred will have sufficient room on an acre, till the 
trees be worth on an average 10s. or 12s. each. 
Suppose, then, that the first thinning takes place 
when the trees are of this value, and that a hundred 
of them are cut down to give scope to the rest, their 
price will amount to L. 50, a sum in comparison of 
which the expense of planting, pruning, and felling 
them, dwindles into nothing. At each successive 
thinning, the trees will be greatly increased in va- 
lue, so that by the time they are reduced to the 
number which will have room to come to full matu- 
rity, a very considerable sum will be realised. This, 
it is evident, would not be the case, were only one 
hundred, the number supposed capable of reaching 
their full growth, originally planted. It is true that, 
in the last mentioned circumstances, the nurses, or 
part of them, might be allowed to stand longer, but 
that would be less gainful, because an oak that 
grows well, will, from the superior value of its wood 
and bark, be worth more when forty or fifty years 
old, than a Scots fir or larch raised on the same soil 
of equal age. " But, if this is the case, why limit 
the number of oaks to five hundred per acre ? 
Might we not plant a thousand, or fifteen hundred, 
and thus derive a still greater profit from the plan- 



THINNING. 



249 



tation ?" We cannot, it is replied, plant the oaks 
much thicker than is above specified, without being 
under the necessity not only of clearing away the 
nurses at an age when they will be of little value, 
but of thinning the oaks themselves before they 
have attained a marketable size. The same oak, if 
felled at thirty, will scarce bring the fourth part of 
the price which it will do if it is allowed to grow 
till it be fifty years old, supposing it to continue in 
a thriving state till that time. These remarks, it 
is hoped, will sufficiently explain my views, and save 
me from the charge of caprice, in recommending 
that five hundred oaks be planted on an acre. Af- 
ter bestowing considerable attention on the subject, 
I think it would be productive of loss to plant either 
many more or many fewer. It is but fair, however, 
to allow, that, on this point, my opinion is founded 
rather on careful calculation than on actual experi- 
ence. 

But to return from this digression, I remarked a 
little above, that it would be requisite to say a few 
words on the process of thinning, as it applies to 
oak, in addition to what is elsewhere said on that 
subject, in reference to wood in general. These 
supplementary directions will relate to the mechani- 
cal part of the operation merely, and they are ren- 



250 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

dered necessary from the importance of not injuring 
the roots of an oak in cutting down the trunk of the 
tree. 

An oak plantation may, with proper care, be 
made to renew itself as often as it is cut down. The 
roots, or stools as they are sometimes termed, which 
remain in the ground, will, if they are preserved from 
the effects of bad treatment, send forth a young pro- 
geny of shoots, which may be trained into a new 
race of trees as valuable as the former. The growth 
of these may, however, be greatly impeded, or even 
entirely prevented, if the roots be considerably sha- 
ken, if the bark be stripped off them, or if the stump 
or stool be left in such a state as to lodge water. In 
thinning oak, therefore, the forester should always 
have an eye to the succession crop, and adopt such 
means as will injure the roots the least possible. 

In cutting down an oak-tree, the saw should al- 
ways be used in preference to the axe. The last- 
mentioned instrument has not only a tendency to 
shake and loosen the roots, by the repeated and vio- 
lent percussion which is necessary in working it, but 
in using it, the most expert woodman can hardly 
avoid leaving a hollow in the middle of the stool. 
This hollow retains all the rain that falls into it, 
and rottenness is produced as a matter of course. 



CUTTING. 



251 



Even in working the saw, when the tree is cut part- 
ly from the one side, and partly from the other, a 
hollow is sometimes left. Against this, the work- 
men should be put upon their guard, and directed 
to avoid it as much as possible. Before felling an 
oak, the bark near the ground is sometimes peeled 
off, in order to prevent any loss of that article. 
When this is performed in a careless or unskilful 
manner, great injury may be done to the root, an 
evil which will be prevented by taking any sharp in- 
strument, such as a large knife, and cutting quite 
through the bark, all round the tree, and as near the 
earth as possible. Between the bark of the trunk 
and that of the roots a separation will thus be form- 
ed, so that none of the latter will be stripped off in 
removing the former. Without this precaution, the 
bark of the roots might be separated from the wood, 
several inches below the surface, to the great injury 
of the stool. 

When all the trees which the state of the planta- 
tion requires to be removed are cut down, it will 
be advisable, that the stools may be the better secu- 
red against the deleterious effects of wet, to daub 
them over with paint, containing a good quantity of 
oil. Special care should be taken in applying this 
composition, not to neglect the edge of the stool, 



252! CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 



where the wood and the bark meet, as the water 
getting between them is particularly pernicious. 
Some foresters (and their practice is worthy of being 
imitated) give the stools the following dressing, as 
it is technically termed : They take an adze, and 
pare off the edge of the stool in a sloping direction, 
all round, and as close as possible to the ground. 
This gives the stool a rounded figure, and thereby 
prevents water from lodging on its top. In work- 
ing with the adze, the stroke must be given up- 
wards, and none but persons that are expert at hand- 
ling that tool ought to be employed, otherwise the 
stools will be much disfigured, and the process so 
imperfectly performed as to do harm instead of 
good. If, in addition to such a dressing, paint be 
likewise applied, injury from moisture will be still 
more effectually prevented. 

The stools will require no farther attention for 
two or three years, by which time they will have 
sent forth a number of shoots, some of which will be 
a considerable length. These must now be thinned 
out, leaving from four to six of the best, according 
to the strength of the stool. In order to perform 
this work effectually, it will be necessary to prepare 
a chisel with a pretty strong wooden handle or haft, 
about two feet long, and also a wooden mallet 



THINNING THE SHOOTS. 



253 



With these tools the workman is to proceed thus : 
Let him bend down the shoots which are to be ta- 
ken away, and place his foot upon them, to leave 
both hands at liberty. Let him then place the 
chisel close to the place where they are joined to the 
parent stock, and strike its head with the mallet till 
the shoots are displaced. I know of no method 
which is so safe and expeditious as this, and which, 
at the same time, does the work so effectually. If 
an axe or bill be used, it will be extremely difficult, 
even with the greatest care, to avoid injuring either 
the shoots that are to be left, the parent stock, or 
both. Another objection to the use of the last- 
mentioned instruments is, that, with them, it is for 
the most part next to impossible to cut off the shoots 
close by the roots ; and if this is not done, a multi- 
tude of young suckers will spring from the parts 
left, and double the labour at some future period. 
At the same time that the superfluous shoots are re- 
moved, the rest should be carefully pruned. 

The number of shoots here directed to be left will, 
if they are designed for coppice, require no more 
thinning ; but if it is intended that a new crop of 
timber be reared, it will afterwards be necessary to 
displace them gradually. The reader may here be 
ready to ask, Why not do the work at once, and 



/ 



254 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

save the trouble of future repetitions of the process ? 
There are several reasons which render this ineligi- 
ble. If, at so early a stage of growth, only one shoot 
were left on each stool, it would not be able to con- 
sume the sap furnished by the roots. The conse- 
quence would be a multitude of new shoots spring- 
ing up, which would require to be displaced in their 
turn ; so that no labour would ultimately be saved. 
When the shoots are young, they are exposed to a 
variety of accidents, being, especially, very liable to 
be broken, and it is highly proper that some provi- 
sion should be made against such casualties. In 
addition to these considerations, it is worthy of no- 
tice that, among several shoots which have made 
equal progress, and appear equally thriving when 
they are two or three years old, there may be a con- 
siderable inequality, in both respects, some years af- 
terwards. Besides the other conveniences, therefore, 
of leaving a plurality on each stool, at the first thin- 
ning, the practice gives an opportunity of selecting 
for preservation, at a period when the vegetative 
powers of the shoots are more fully developed, the 
individual which has the appearance of becoming 
the finest tree ; this appearance being the less de- 
ceptive the farther the plant has advanced in growth. 
I neglected, in the proper place, to observe, that, at 

4 



SUCCESSION CROPS OF OAK. 



255 



the first thinning, the shoots should be left at as re- 
gular distances from one another as possible round 
the whole circumference of the stool. 

Pruning will require to be performed once every 
two years, as in a common plantation ; and the fores- 
ter must exercise his own judgment in thinning by 
degrees, as may be found necessary, till the number 
of stools and young trees be equal. As soon as one 
of the latter appears capable of exhausting all the 
nourishment that one of the former can supply, it 
is time for this equality to take place ; but the pre- 
cise period cannot be stated, as it will vary under 
different circumstances, and can be determined sole- 
ly by the state of the plantation in each particular 
case. Whenever the wavers , (as the shoots put 
forth by oak-stools and regularly trained with the 
view of letting them grow to the size of timber are 
sometimes called), become so thick as to exclude a 
proper supply of air, and consequently draw each 
other up weak, they must of course be thinned, with- 
out regard to what number the stools may be cap- 
able of nourishing. 

Some writers tell us that a single stool will be 
able to bring several shoots to the size of trees, and 
recommend that more than one shoot be accordingly 
left. That the fact is true, in certain cases, not only of 



256 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

the oak, but of the ash, elm, beech, plane, and 
several other species, is undeniable ; but of the pro- 
priety of the direction founded upon it, if it be in- 
tended as a general rule, there is great reason to 
doubt. When we see several large trunks springing 
from one common root, it is generally in detached 
situations, where there is ample scope for the spread- 
ing of the branches on all sides. Even in these cir- 
cumstances, it is somewhat problematical whether 
such a plurality of stems be more advantageous to 
the proprietor than a single one would have been '.^ 
for we can easily conceive that the deficiency in 
number might have been fully compensated by su- 
perior size and quickness of growth. At all events, 
common sense teaches, that it is only when a stool 
stands alone and bv itself, not when it is in the near 
vicinity of others, that the attempt to make it bring 
more than one bole to maturity can at all deserve 
approbation. 

The above directions, with the exception that the 
whole number of shoots left at first is to be allowed 
to remain, without farther thinning, are applicable, 
though the crop be not intended for timber but cop- 
pice. Coppice is chiefly valuable on account of its 
bark, for the sake of which it is cut every twenty, 
twenty-five, or thirty years, according to the quick- 

3 



SUCCESSION CROPS OF OAK. ^57 

iiess or slowness of its growth. It would be desir- 
able that coppice, as well as grown timber, should 
be cut down with the saw instead of the axe ; but 
to this, the length of time that would be required 
in performing the work, is reckoned an insuperable 
objection. And it must be confessed, that the use 
of the axe is productive of less damage in cutting 
down coppice than in felling large trees ; because 
the comparatively few strokes that are requisite in 
the former case have evidently a less tendency to 
disturb the roots, than the long and vehement per- 
cussion which is necessary in the latter. The stumps 
should be all left of a sloping figure, in order that 
the water may run oiF ; and the less they rise above 
the surface of the ground so much the better. The 
young shoots which are to form the succeeding crop 
often spring from the highest part of the stool ; and 
if this is many inches above the surface, several evils 
ensue. In the first place, the shoots, having no 
connexion with the ground, cannot put forth roots, 
as they always do when they spring, like the suckers 
which we sometimes see about growing trees, from 
the part of the stool which is in immediate contact 
with the soil. They have, therefore, a less copious 
supply of nourishment than they would have in the 

last-mentioned circumstances ; and, consequently, 

R 



258 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

make less progress in growing. Seco7idly, if coppice 
has been repeatedly cut, and the stumps left of a 
considerable length each time, the stools not only- 
become greatly disfigured, but no new roots being 
formed, the old ones grow weak with age, and at 
last totally decay. Thirdly, When shoots spring 
out from the old stool, at the distance of several 
inches from the ground, they are very liable to be 
broken off by great falls of snow, and a variety of 
other causes, which have comparatively little power 
over them when they strike root in the earth. 
These considerations, in addition to that of preserv- 
ing the stool from the deleterious effects of moisture, 
render it highly eligible to give the stumps of cop- 
pices the same dressing after each cutting as has 
just been recommended for stools after a fall of grovni 
timber. The expense, if skilful workmen are em- 
ployed, will be trifling ; but even should it prove 
considerable, it will be ten times repaid by the salu- 
tary effects which it will produce. 

A great and general error in the management of 
oak coppice, is the utter carelessness which prevails 
of affording it shelter during the first years of its 
growth. At this early stage, the shoots from an old 
stool are as apt to be injured by the winds and frosts 
as those of a young plant. By exposing them un- 



SUCCESSION CROPS OF OAK. 



259 



protected to these enemies, therefore, very great loss 
is incurred : yet, from the manner in which coppice 
is generally dealt with, the managers and proprietors 
of woods seem to be utterly regardless of this eviL 
The whole is cut down on the return of the stated 
period, at one fell swoop, without leaving a single 
twig that might help to ward off the blighting blasts 
from the ensuing crop. The ugly appearance of a hag, 
as it is termed, left in this revolting state of absolute 
nudity, might of itself be a sufficient inducement to 
leave some straggling bushes of coppice here and 
there by way of clothing, to hide such an uncomely 
sight in some degree from the eye. But in this, 
as well as in other departments of the forester's duty, 
the old mode has been adhered to, in many instan- 
ces, even although erroneous in the view of those 
who practise it, from an indolence which cannot 
rouse itself so far as to change its ancient habits, or 
attempt improvement. 

An oak coppice may be kept continually under 
shelter by adopting the following very simple plan : 
Instead of proceeding as with a field of grass to be 
made into hay, and laying all flat before us ; if we 
leave standing as much of the coppice as will shade 
the stools, whose produce is cut down, from the rays 
of the morning sun, the rising shoots will have 

R 2 



^60 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK, 

abundant shelter from the effects whether of Winds- 
or frosts. As soon as these shoots are of sufficient 
height to shelter one another, the nurses may be cut 
down ; their stools will be sheltered in their turn by 
the young crop which has just got up around them ; 
and thus the whole will have the advantage of un- 
interrupted protection from the injuries of the wea- 
ther. 

Coppice is generally sold on the ground, and is 
cut down by the purchaser; and it may therefore be 
objected that the mode of proceeding just explained, 
would be productive of much vexation and incon- 
venience. That it would occasion, at least the first 
time it was put in practice, some degree of trouble, 
is readily confessed ; but the difficulties connected 
with it bear so small a proportion to its advantages, 
as to form no just ground of rejecting it and perse- 
vering in the common plan. There is surely nothing 
insurmountable in counting the number of stools 
contained in any given extent of coppice, or in mak- 
ing the buyer aware how many of these the proprie- 
tor wishes to be saved from the axe. An intending 
purchaser on being told that the produce of one- 
eighth, one-ninth, one-tenth, or any other propor- 
tion of the stools, was to be left standing for the 
purpose of shelter, would know as well what he 



SUCCESSION CROPS OF OAK. 



261 



would be safe to offer, as if the whole were put up 
to sale. The stools intended to be spared could be 
marked by the simple expedient of turning up a sod 
beside each, which would be a sufficient guide to 
those employed in cutting, while it would be a check 
on the purchaser to prevent him from encroaching 
on the proprietor's right, by taking more of the cop- 
pice than he bargained for, or from leaving only the 
produce of inferior stools, instead of a fair average 
of good and bad. These hints are given, not as des- 
cribing the best possible method of accomplishing 
the object in question, but to show that the scheme 
is practicable, and that it involves no difficulty 
which may not be surmounted by a very moderate 
share of ingenuity and attention. 

In a coppice which has been once cut on the above 
mentioned system, there can be no recurrence of si- 
milar inconveniences on any future occasion. The 
young crop, from the stools whose former produce 
was cut down at the return of the stated period, will 
require the aid of the nurses till it is five or six, or 
perhaps eight or nine years old. When these nur- 
ses are cut down, therefore, the new crop of coppice 
that arises from the stools will be so far behind the 
rest in growth as to be easily distinguished, without 
the aid of any artificial mark to show that it is not 



262 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 



to be cut down. The purchaser will be under no 
temptation to exchange any of it for the maturer 
produce of the stools which actually belong to him ; 
or if he do, it is impossible that the proprietor can 
be a loser ; and the number of the nursing-stools, as 
we may call them, being ascertained and mentioned 
in the articles of sale, it will be easy to discover 
whether any fraudulent liberties are taken with them ; 
or in other words, whether the purchaser cuts down 
more of the crop than he is entitled to by the condi- 
tions of his bargain. 

If, after what has been said, the reader should 
still persist in thinking the scheme here proposed 
impracticable, or at least too troublesome to be 
adopted, he may have recourse to various other 
modes of accomplishing the object now under consi- 
deration. A coppice of small extent may be suffi- 
ciently sheltered by surrounding it with a thickly 
planted belt of any kind or kinds of trees adapted to 
the soil. In larger grounds, birch and mountain- 
ash may be planted at proper distances throughout 
the whole. These should be encouraged to grow 
rather in the shape of bushes than trees, which they 
may be made to do by heading them down when 
they are two or three feet high, and letting the 
young shoots which will afterwards spring up, grow 



SUCCESSION CROPS OF OAK. 263 



without pruning. Both these trees are extremely 
hardy, will grow in any soil where they can be re- 
quired for the purpose in question ; and if planted 
twelve or fourteen years before the fall of a coppice, 
will be of sufficient height to protect the ensuing 
crop. When the bushes grow to a cumbersome size 
they may be cut down, observing to do this when 
the coppice is tall enough to afford shelter to itself; 
but, at the same time, so long before the period at 
which it will be fit for the axe, that the suckers 
which arise from the roots of the birch and mountain- 
ash may be so far advanced as to qualify them for 
nursing the next progeny of the oak stools. 

In most old coppice grounds there is abundance 
of materials for shelter, that have grown up natural- 
ly among the stools, consisting (besides the kinds 
which we have recommended when it is necessary to 
plant for this purpose) of willow, alder, and, in some 
cases, ash and plane-tree. The general practice is 
to cut these down along with the coppice, so that no 
benefit is ever derived from them as nurses. This 
conduct is the more reprehensible as the pecuniary 
advantage derived from it is exceedingly trifling, 
and scarce worthy of notice. The proprietor would 
find it far more profitable to reserve all the barren 
wood (as in a coppice every other species besides the 



264 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

oak is termed) and let it stand for shelter. Some- 
times, indeed, it grows so thick as to be destructive 
instead of salutary : when this happens, it must, of 
course, be thinned to the requisite distances ; and 
to prevent the too frequent recurrence of that labour, 
all the unnecessary roots thould be grubbed up or 
destroyed. In concluding this subject, I do not he- 
sitate to assert, that, by means of shelter, the growth 
of coppice may be so materially accelerated as to 
add permanently twenty per cent, to its value. 

The last thing proposed to be done, in this some- 
what miscellaneous chapter, was to throw out a few 
hints for the recovery of oak plantations in a sickly 
or un thriving condition. It has been already men- 
tioned, as a frequent consequence of the common 
mode of planting oaks, that they become stunted, 
and remain for years without making any progress. 
The roots, being first injured by transplanting, re- 
quire several seasons to re-establish their vigour, and 
enable them to convey a due quantity of sap to the 
branches. During this interval, the latter become 
hide-bound, their vessels contract, and they lose the 
power of drawing the supply of nourishment requi- 
site for their growth, after the roots are capable of 
affording it. The superabundant sap must, of 
course, have a vent ; but finding none in the origi- 



RECOVERY OF OAK WOOD. 



265 



iial and natural channels, it disgorges itself by form- 
ing tufts of insignificant shoots all over the stem of 
the plant ; as the humours of the human body some- 
times break out in blotches on the skin. Thus an 
irregular scraggy bush is gradually formed, which it 
is beyond the art of the most skilful pruner to train 
up into any semblance of a proper tree. The only 
certain cure for oaks in this state is to head them 
down within an inch of the ground. The knife is 
a fit instrument to perform this work, if the stem is 
not above two inches in circumference ; but when 
the girth exceeds this, a small saw, made for the pur- 
pose, should be used. In applying the knife, a con- 
siderable pull is requisite, which will have a tendency 
to disturb the roots, if they are not well fixed in the 
earth. In heading down oaks, therefore, that have 
only been planted a few seasons, the operator should 
place a foot on each side of the stem, and as near it 
as is consistent with the use of the knife, that the 
roots may be kept firm by his weight. 

I recollect no instance in which the above treat- 
ment did not prove salutary. The cutting down of 
the plant leaves no room for the sap to waste itself, as 
formerly, in the production of a multitude of insig- 
nificant twigs. It is concentrated in a single point ; 
and the consequence is, that a healthy, vigorous and 



^66 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 

thriving shoot springs up, so that the plant may be 
said to receive a new nature ; and it is henceforth 
as remarkable for quickness as it previously v^^as for 
slowness of growth. Any person who has a young 
plantation of oaks in a stunted condition, if he 
doubts the efficacy of the mode of cure here suggest- 
ed, and is afraid to hazard its consequences on a 
large scale, may, to avoid all risk, first try its effects 
on a few plants. The result of the experiment will, 
I have no doubt, convince him that my assertions 
are well founded and true. 

In plantations where thinning has been neglect- 
ed, we often meet with oaks drawn up as tall and 
slender as hop-poles by the trees among which they 
grow. In such circumstances, it is in vain to expect 
that they will ever become valuable timber ; and the 
proper way of dealing with them is to cut them 
down as directed above, clearing away, at the same 
time, as many of the neighbouring trees as may be 
necessary for the free admission of air. I have 
known instances, where this plan has been followed, 
of the stools sending forth shoots four feet long in 
one season. The proper time for heading down 
oaks is between the fall of the leaf and the period at 
which the sap begins to ascend, that is, from Janu- 
ary to March. 



BECOVERY OF OAK WOOD. 



267 



When oaks formerly in a thriving state seem to 
become hide-bound, it is often of use to slit the out- 
er bark with the point of a very sharp knife from 
top to bottom of the trunk, and along the principal 
branches. Care must be taken in making the inci- 
sion to keep the blade in such a position as to cut 
through the outer bark, without piercing the inner 
bark or liber If the tree is pretty large, several of 
these longitudinal slits may be made at equal dis- 
tances from one another in its stem, but the bark must 
by no means be cut in a cross or transverse direction. 

I once recovered several old oaks, whose tops 
were considerably advanced in decay, by the following 
simple process : I laid lime on the surface, all round 
the trees, and to the distance of several feet from 
their stems, and dug it in as deep as was practica- 
ble without injuring the roots. This was done in 
the month of February, and the following summer 
such a profusion of young shoots were put forth as 
to hide from view every withered branch. Lime 
seems indeed to be very salutary in reviving decidu- 
ous trees of every description ; and I believe I have 

* In Vol. iv. Part ii. p. 395. of Memoirs of Caledonian Horti- 
cultural Society, a slitter or scarificator is described and figured, 
which by a simple contrivance prevents the possibility of cut- 
ting too deep, or running the knife between the outer and in- 
ner bark. 



^68 CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF OAK. 



the merit of being the first to make this public 
A more perfect way of applying it than the above, 
would perhaps be, to lay the roots of the tree bare, 
and place it in contact with them, after having first 
mixed it with twenty times its bulk of fresh mould. 

* I allow this to stand as it was first written, though, since 
reading Sir Henry Steuart's work on giving immediate effect 
to Wood, I am convinced that the preparation which he applies 
to such trees as do not appear to thrive after removal, would 
have a much more powerful effect than the simple application 
recommended at the place to which this note refers. This 
preparation consists of a mixture of earth and coal-ashes ; 
and his manner of applying it, the reader will find describ- 
ed towards the end of the account of his method given in 
this volume. 1 cannot avoid thinking that those who have 
plantations in parks or pleasure-grounds in an unthriving state, 
from badness of soil or such-like cause, would find the most 
gratifying effects to succeed a skilful application of more than 
one of Sir Henry's composts. Some of these are very cheap, 
and the most expensive of them, which is the one here referred 
to, given at the rate of three or four cart loads to each tree, 
could be applied to several thousand trees for a comparatively 
trifling sum. 

Query, Might not those who have already plantations about 
their mansions, but of a diminutive size, from badness of soil or 
otherwise, rapidly produce all the improvement they could de- 
sire, by a judicious use of Sir Henry's composts, without adopt- 
ing any more of his plan ? 



( 269 ) 



CHAPTER IX. 

PLANTS PROPER FOR UNDERWOOD, AND THEIR 
CULTURE. 

Underwood may be considered under three 
views ; as it improves the beauty of a plantation ; 
as it contributes to the increase and preservation of 
game ; and as it may be rendered productive of pe- 
cuniary profit. 

When a plantation has risen to a considerable 
height, and the lower branches have been removed,, 
either by pruning or natural decay, the trunks, ut- 
terly devoid of any kind of foliage, have a bleak and 
disagreeable appearance to a spectator who is either 
within the wood or near it. This is more particu- 
larly the case when the trees belong to any of the 
fir tribe ; for the straight, formal manner in which 
they grow, has a tendency to remind the beholder of 
posts for drying linen standing on a bleaching-green^ 
or of the pillars in the frame-work of a saw-pit, ob- 
jects that are far from being either picturesque or 
beautiful. 



270 PLANTS PROPER FOR UNDERWOOD, 

To remove the mi pleasing effect of a plantation 
in such a state, recourse must he had to underwood ; 
by means of which a subordinate verdure may be 
produced, to relieve the eye from the tiresome same- 
ness of a multitude of naked stems, and to render 
the view of a forest, when we are close by its side, 
or in the midst of it, scarce less enchanting than 
when placed at a distance : the sight rests on its 
branches, which conceal all deformities by their um- 
brage, while they nod in the summer breeze. Un- 
derwood, for the sake of ornament, is particularly re- 
quisite on the outskirts of a plantation, and along 
the verges of the walks or rides which may have 
been formed through it. 

One of the plants which may be properly used for 
the purpose in question is the Mountain-ash. It is 
extremely hardy, will thrive almost in any soil, and 
succeed well beneath the shade of larger trees. Its 
blossom in spring, and its berries in autumn, are ex- 
tremely pleasing to the eye, and render it highly or- 
namental. When planted for underwood, it should 
be taken from the nursery before it exceeds two feet 
in height, and pits should be made for its reception. 
A cheaper way of propagating it, is to sow its ber- 
ries in the plantation where it is wanted, as soon as 
they are gathered from the trees. Though the sur- 

4 



AND THEIR CULTURE. 



271 



face of the ground be covered with a considerable 
depth of grass or fog, as many of them will find 
their way to the soil as will produce a sufficiently 
thick crop. Most berries lie two years in the 
ground before they germinate ; but of those of the 
mountain-ash a considerable number spring up the 
first season. When propagated for underwood this 
tree should never be pruned. There is an objection 
against its admission into plantations, which, when 
they are situated in the neighbourhood of towns or 
villages, is of some weight. The tempting appear- 
ance of its berries in autumn encourages the inroads 
of schoolboys, a kind of depredators that are very 
injurious to woods. 

The Birch, both v^eeping and common, may also 
be introduced as underwood, even in situations 
where ornament is the principal object. For though 
it carries neither showy flower nor berry, its leaves are 
not destitute of beauty, and they emit an odour which 
most people find highly agreeable in taking a walk 
through a forest. If the herbage on the surface of 
the ground be not very deep, the best way of raising 
birch for the purpose in question, is to sow its seeds 
in the month of April. 

Several of the hardier kinds of shrubs, whose cul- 
tivation is generally confined to the parterre, may 



272 PLANTS PROPER FOR UNDERWOOD, 

be used with great success to adorn the woodland. 
One of these is the common purple Lilac, which is 
easily propagated, very hardy, grows well under the 
shade of trees, and is by no means delicate with re- 
gard to soil. This shrub may be planted at any 
time, from November to March, and should be from 
two to three feet high when removed from the nur- 
sery. Twenty or thirty plants of it put into rich 
garden soil will, in the course of a few years, furnish 
as many suckers or offsets as will be sufficient for a 
considerable extent of woodland. In the latter it is 
not necessary to plant the lilac very thick, for it has 
a great tendency to increase, and one set will soon 
fill the ground with its suckers to a considerable dis- 
tance all around it. It is its prolific nature that ren- 
ders it peculiarly valuable for dwarf underwood ; as 
by means of it the bare appearance which is so of- 
fensive to the eye in grown wood may be remedied 
quickly, and at a trifling expense. When in bloom, 
it looks extremely gay ; and though its commonness 
takes away from its effect when we see it in a gar- 
den or shrubbery, nothing can be better calculated 
for enlivening the gloom and loneliness of a forest. 
The lilac should be planted in pits, and the offsets 
should not be too much divided. 

The dwarf Laburnum is another species well qua- 

3 



AND THEIR CULTURE. 



273 



lified for beautifying forest scenery. It is very 
hardy, grows well under the drip of large trees, and 
almost any soil will suit it. It may he planted in 
pits when two or three years old, any time from No- 
vember to March. If any of the plants appear to 
be sickly the first summer after they are planted, 
they should be headed down the following spring 
within two inches of the ground. This will make 
them grow up bushy, a property very desirable in 
underwood. Four or five years after planting, the 
laburnum will begin to blossom. Its large clusters 
of bright yellow flowers have an extremely cheerful 
aspect in the deep solitude of a wood. 

The Sweet-briar is another very ornamental plant, 
though of more humble growth than the last. It is 
likewise a flowering shrub, bearing a rose in July, the 
fruit of which is a large dark red berry that hangs 
upon and beautifies the bush during the greater 
part of the winter. The leaves of the sweet-briar 
have a very agreeable smell, and when wet with the 
morning or evening dews, or with rain, they fiU the 
air with their sweetness. Three or four years may 
be allowed to the sweet-briar in the nursery, in 
which it should be once transplanted before remov- 
ing it to adorn the forest. It should be planted in 
pits, its branches being first shortened to two inches 

s 



274} PLANTS PROPER FOR UNDERWOOD, 

ill length, and the extremities cut from its roots. 
The more bushy the plants are, so much the better. 
But perhaps the best way of propagating this shrub 
in plantations, is to sow its seeds where wanted, in- 
stead of using plants from the nursery. Having 
collected a sufficient quantity of its heps, when 
they are fully ripe about Christmas, lay them in a 
heap, and cover them with earth till the end of 
March, when they are to be taken up, and the seeds 
cleared of the pulp. Sow them as follows : Make 
round patches by paring off the surface as thinly as 
possible, about a foot in diameter, throwing away 
the sod. Turn over one stamp in the centre, and 
drop in a few of the seeds, covering them about a 
quarter of an inch deep. Proceed in this way till 
as many are sown as is deemed necessary, and leave 
them to take their chance. Though all the seeds 
should grow, it is not necessary to thin the plants. 
One or two in each patch will get the start of the 
rest, and make room for themselves. By following 
this plan, thousands of sweet-briar bushes may be 
raised wherever they are wanted, at a very trifling 
expense. Even the wild briars, as they bear roses 
and berries, are not void of beauty, and may be 
encouraged to grow among wood. To propagate 
them, no more pains need be taken than to scat- 



AND THEIR CULTURE. 



275 



ter seeds on the ground, and leave them to their 
fate. 

The Common Hawthorn is rendered classical by 
our national poetry and songs, and while in blossom 
is one of the most beautiful large shrubs we possess. 
Where the purpose is ornament, it may, with great 
propriety, be introduced as underwood in the out- 
skirts of a plantation where there is a south or south- 
west exposure ; but it scarcely flowers in situations 
where it is much shaded from the sun. It may be 
planted in pits when two or three years old, its 
shoots being previously shortened, as was directed 
for those of the sweet-briar. It may also be propa- 
gated from seeds in the same manner as the last 
mentioned plant ; but the haws should be kept in a 
heap covered with earth for twelve months after they 
are gathered, as none of them germinate till they have 
been two years in the ground. The proper season 
for sowing them is from December to March. The 
growth of hawthorn may be greatly accelerated by 
the application of lime. 

In order to make the forest as cheerful as possible 
during the winter months, every sort of evergreen 
that is hardy enough for the purpose, should be in- 
troduced among the underwood. Of this kind of 
plants none deserves higher regard than the common 

s 21 



^76 PLANTS PROPER FOR UNDERWOOD, 

Holly. It is at once the hardiest and most beautiful • 
of evergreens, is originally a native of our climate, 
and has, from time immemorial, been a favourite v^th 
our poets, who have, in all ages, been fond of intro- 
ducing it among the imagery which they draw from 
woodland scenery. The holly delights in shady si- 
tuations, and in a light soil which is not subject to 
run dry in summer. It will, however, succeed well 
enough in stiff land which has not a superabundance 
of moisture. Being a tap-rooted plant, it does not 
like transplanting, and the older it grows, the worse 
that operation agrees with it. It is necessary, there- 
fore, that the plants be taken very young from the 
nursery, and the proper season for removing thera^ 
like most other evergreens, is the month of Septem- 
ber, or latter end of August. Patches of a foot dia- 
meter should be made for them by carefully digging, 
the ground ; and three or four plants should be 
pricked into each as a provision against failures. By 
far the best way, however, of propagating the holly 
in plantations, is to sow its seeds in patches like 
those we have recommended for acorns, but they 
need not be above half as large. Drop into each of 
these a few of the berries, or rather of the seeds, af- 
ter the pulp is consumed by being buried in 
the earth a year previously. They should be 



AND THEIR CULTURE. 



covered with earth between a quarter and half an 
inch deep. If the whole of the seeds grow, the 
plants may nevertheless be left without thinning, as 
some or other of them will get the start of the rest, 
and make room for themselves. 

The Juniper is an evergreen which ought by no 
means to be despised in ornamenting forest scenery. 
It will grow in a considerable degree of shade, and 
is easily propagated. In many of our woods and 
waste lands, indeed, it grows naturally ; but when 
this is not the case, it may be raised by scattering 
its berries on the ground where it is wanted. 

The Yew is very handsome, and no evergreen is 
more celebrated. Though it grows to the size of a 
tree, it may be made to fill the subordinate place of 
underwood, as it thrives extremely well in the shade. 
Its berries may be sown as directed for those of the 
holly, or plants of it, five or six years old, may be 
procured from the nursery. It is perhaps the slow- 
est grower of all the trees that are natives of this 
country. We must be cautious of planting yew in 
places to which cattle have access, as it is to them a 
deadly poison. 

There are two climbing or running plants, which 
may be made to supply the place of shrub-ever- 
greens, and are highly ornamental. These are the 



278 PLANTS PRQPER FOR UNDERWOOD, 

Ivy and Periwinkle. The former, however, can 
only be introduced with safety into a plantation, so 
far as to cover a stone-fence, or the bare face of a 
rock ; for if permitted to climb up the trees, it will 
do them very great injury. It is a pity this should 
be so ; for few objects are more picturesque than the 
trunk of a large tree verdant with ivy. The peri- 
mnkle is chiefly useful for covering the surface of 
the ground, and though it will climb over earth, or 
even stone- fences, in a shady situation, it does not 
ascend trees, and is therefore quite harmless. Its 
deep-green leaves make a fine contrast with its 
azure-coloured flowers. It may be propagated from 
plants put into the ground either in spring or au- 
tumn. These are easily procured, readily strike root, 
and a few of them will soon increase, so as to co- 
vej* a large space of ground *. 

The Woodbine or Honeysuckle is another climb- 
ing plant which possesses a high degree of beauty, It 
is apt to injure young trees, by winding itself tightly 

* I would recommend the introduction of the large-leaved 
or Irish ivy, and the large-leaved periwinkle, both of which 
are more splendid and showy than the common kinds, and may 
be propagated with equal ease. I have also lately introduced 
the Privet into woods, and I find it succeed well. It is a fine 
ornamental plant, its light green leaves forming a pleasant 
contrast with the darker colours of the ivy. 



AND THEIR CULTURE. 



round them ; but it is far less dangerous in this re- 
spect than the ivy, as it neither strikes root in the 
bark, nor excludes the air and retains the damp at 
all seasons of the year, like the last-named plant. 
In old woods it may be introduced with perfect safe- 
ty, as the damage it occasions to a full grown tree is 
scarce worth notice. It indeed prefers running on 
the ground to ascending a tree of any considerable 
girth ; for being strongly attracted by the sun, 
though a twig of it placed on the north side, or 
shaded side of a trunk, will inevitably make a cir- 
cuit round, so far as may enable it to bask in the 
noon-tide rays of that luminary, there is no charm 
to excite it to a counter revolution, and none but 
small stems, accordingly, of which the shaded part, 
when the sun shines, is extremely narrow, are in 
danger of suffering from the too close embraces of 
the woodbine. Honeysuckle may be propagated 
either from berries or slips. The latter should be a 
foot long, and of the preceding year's growth. The 
fittest season for planting them is the month of Fe- 
bruary, and they must be inserted in the ground 
deep enough to cover at least one joint. 

Some of these plants cannot, perhaps, in strict pro- 
priety, be denominated underwood ; and I may be 
blamed for introducing matter inconsistent with the 



280 PLANTS PROPER FOR UNDERWOOD, 

professed design of the present chapter. I cannot, 
however, resist the temptation of mentioning some 
others, which are well calculated for beautifying a 
plantation, though they may appear still more remote 
from the purpose in hand than any I have yet noticed. 

Many of the hardier species of flowers, both bul- 
bous and fibrous rooted, which in general are culti- 
vated only in the garden or pleasure-ground, may 
be introduced with excellent effect as ornaments to 
the forest. Of these, all the common varieties of 
the Cowslip and Primrose, will grow wherever trees 
are found in a thriving state. These simple flowers 
blow early in spring, and are in full perfection when 
the grassy sod on which they recline has just as- 
sumed its vernal hue. Nothing can be more enticing 
than their appearance at this early season of the year, 
or contribute more to render a stroll in the woods de- 
lightful. They sometimes spring up naturally, 
especially by the sides of running streams ; but as 
their plants are easily procured, they may, at little 
more expense than is incurred by putting them into 
the ground, be propagated in any plantation where 
this is not the case. They will hold, if transplanted, 
at almost any season of the year, when the drought 
is not excessive, or when the earth is not hardened 
with frost. 



AND THEIR CULTURE. 



281 



The Narcissus, both yellow and white, is like- 
wise excellently adapted for the same purpose. 
The leaves are of themselves ornamental, and the 
flowers seem still more beautiful, when we see 
them in a wood, than in a garden, where their 
commonness detracts considerably from their effect. 
The bulbs of the narcissus should be planted in the 
month of October, not singly, but in pretty large 
clusters, and covered about an inch deep with earth. 
The Snow-drop, Star of Bethlehem, large Turncap 
Lily, and Crocus, are all bulbous plants, that may 
be removed to the forest as companions to the nar- 
cissus in October. 

The common perennial or Kamschatka Lu- 
pine, one of the most ornamental of the hardier 
kinds of flowers, may be introduced as success- 
fully as any into woods. It may be propagated 
either by seeds, cuttings, or oflPsets; but the last 
method is to be preferred as the readiest, and as 
being attended with the least trouble. Half a 
dozen of plants of it, will, in a few years, increase 
to thousands, without the slightest attention on the 
part of the gardener. Its roots are so prolific in 
sending forth young plants, that in the pleasure- 
ground it is often necessary to dig many of them 
up, and consign them, like weeds, to the dunghil ; 



282 PLANTS PROPER FOR UNDERWOOD, 

though on its first introduction into the north of 
Scotland, it was so highly valued as to be sold by 
the nurserymen at half-a-crown the plant. The per- 
ennial lupine may be transplanted at any season 
when it is not in flower. When removed to the fo 
rest, its roots ought not to be weakened by too much 
dividing, for the sake of multiplying plants. 

The Bachelor's Button, Monk's-hood, Campanu- 
la, and a variety of other flowers equally common 
and hardy, will thrive as well in the forest as in the 
best cultivated garden ; and they all appear more 
beautiful when we meet with them in the wilder- 
ness, than when we see them in the most trimly-kept 
parterre. 

A number of plants which are usually classed 
among weeds, and are sedulously extirpated where- 
ever they are found in cultivated land, possess no in- 
considerable share of beauty, and were they rare exo- 
tics, would be as carefully cherished as they are now 
unsparingly destroyed. Such are the broom, the 
various species of fern, the wild foxglove, &c. Even 
of the thistle, that sturdiest of all weeds, there are 
species, which, when in flower, have an imposing 
appearance, and, however I may be laughed at for 
the assertion, there are few objects to be met with 
in natural scenery more romantic than a large heal- 



AND THEIR CULTURE. 



283 



thy plant of this proscribed genus in full bloom, 
the wild bees buzzing in delight around it, or alight- 
ing to extract its honey. The plants, indeed, which 
we consider as weeds, whatever natural charms they 
may possess, offend the eye when we see them grow- 
ing in a garden, or amidst cultivated fields, because 
they are then associated in our minds with the noxi- 
ous effects they have on the crop. But when they 
fall under our notice in places which are beyond the 
province of the plough or the spade, such as the 
moor or the forest, where there is nothing in their 
vicinity to which they can be productive of harm, all 
our prejudices against them vanish, and our eyes be- 
come open to their beauty. At the risk, therefore, of 
exciting the mirth of many a knowing forester at my 
own expense, I recommend the above mentioned 
weeds, as well as all others which have any thing 
agreeable, either in the shape and verdure of their 
leaves, or hue of their flowers, as highly proper for 
adorning woodland. Weeds though they be, na- 
ture has not planted them indiscriminately in every 
place, and a little pains and attention might be 
worse expended than in propagating them, when we 
wish to add beauty to a plantation. 

Most of the plants now mentioned will be proper, 
though the principal object be not ornament, but 



284 PLANTS PROPER FOR UNDERWOOD, 

the increase and preservation of game. Underwood 
planted with a view to this object, should possess the 
requisites of affording concealment and shelter, and 
of rendering the interior of a forest difficult of ac- 
cess, at the hours when poachers usually commit 
their depredations. For the sake, likewise, of at- 
tracting a variety of birds, w^hich, though not reck- 
oned game, every person of taste will encourage to 
frequent his plantations (such, for instance, as the 
ring-dove, the thrush, the blackbird, the goldfinch, 
the linnet, and others), it is desirable that under- 
wood consist as much as possible of plants which 
bear seeds or berries proper for the food of these 
birds. Now, almost the whole of the plants men- 
tioned above possess some of these properties, part 
of them all. The lilac affords, by the multitude of 
suckers which it throws out in all directions, no con- 
temptible cover. The creeping woodbine and peri- 
winkle, by ever and anon entangling the feet, ren- 
der the traversing of a wood after sunset an enter- 
prize far from expeditious, and not without danger 
of many a sudden fall. The mountain-ash, besides 
serving the purposes of concealment and shelter, 
produces plentiful crops of berries for the subsist- 
ence of various kinds of birds, and the tender bark 
of its young shoots is fed on by the hare, when that 



AND THEIR CULTURE. 



animal is forced from the open fields by deep falls of 
snow. The holly, the hawthorn, and the briar, pos- 
sess all the properties that can be required in under- 
wood ; they produce berries, afford shelter, and, of all 
the natives of the forest, are the most effectual bar- 
riers against the midnight inroads of the poacher, 
as they wound and tear whoever comes unwarily in 
contact with them. Even the flower plants which 
have been enumerated, bear seeds from which some 
or other of the flying tribes derive part of their live- 
lihood. The thistle itself, which retains its downy 
seeds during the winter months, furnishes the great- 
er part of the goldfinch's subsistence throughout 
that portion of the year. Thus we find, that we 
cannot plant underwood with a view to ornament, 
without at the same time making provision for the 
encouragement and protection of game, and of such 
other animals as almost every proprietor will consi- 
der desirable inhabitants of his plantations. 

When the principal object is, however, to increase 
and preserve game, there are several other kinds of 
plants which may with great advantage be intermix- 
ed with the foregoing. Of these the Hazel deserves 
particularly to be cultivated, wherever the soil is fa- 
vourable to it. This plant may either be raised in 
the nursery, and removed to its final destination^ 



2186 PLANTS PKOPER FOR UNDERWOOD, 

when three or four years old, or its nuts may be 
sown in patches in the plantation where it is wanted, 
in the same manner as has been directed for acorns. 
The bushy manner in which the hazel generally 
grows, qualifies it well for affording concealment, 
and birds when pursued by the hawk often find in 
it safety from his talons. The blackbird and thrush 
haunt it much, and in it we often find their nests. 

The Oak, though the principal tree of the forest, 
disdains not to asume the subordinate character of 
underwood; and in this department it should al- 
ways be liberally introduced, when the preservation 
of game is the object in view. Its mode of cultiva- 
tion has already been fully explained, and it is un- 
necessary to say any thing further on that subject 
at present, unless it be to remark, that when rais- 
ed for the purpose of underwood, several young oaks 
may be allowed to grow in one patch, instead of 
thinning them out till one plant only remain, which 
is necessary when they are intended for trees. 

Both the Oak and Hazel ibay be propagated by 
layers ; and in this way, if we possess but a few 
stools of either, we may quickly diffuse plants over 
a large space of ground. The proper time for laying- 
down the shoots, both of oak and hazel, is tvhen they 
are from six to eight or ten feet in length. Lay- 

4 



AND THEIR CULTURE 



eriiig is a simple and easy process. It consists in 
bending the branch down to the earth, and fixing it 
with a hooked peg of wood at any place where there 
is an eye, as it is technically termed ; that is, 
wherever a twig springs out from the main branch. 

If there are several of these twigs here and there 
on the branch, it may be pegged into the earth as 
often as they occur, according to the distance at 
which we wish the plants that grow from them to 
stand from one another. At the end of two years 
after layering, several shoots of a considerable length 
will have arisen from each eye. Some of these 
may then be laid down in their turn, and by pro- 
ceeding thus, as often as an opportunity occurs, acres 
of land may in time be planted, if that is necessary, 
from one original stool. If the branch to be laid is 
very strong, it may be saved from the danger of 
breaking, by cutting it half through, near the root, 
and then splitting it up, for the space of a foot or 
more. This will render it less stubborn to bend, 
and consequently diminish the risk of fracture. 
The surface of the ground should be pared off at 
the place where the branch is to be pegged down, 
and the earth slackened. As much of the branches 
as touches the soil must be covered with mould, at 
least three inches thick, and well pressed down 



288 PLANTS PROPER FOR UNDERWOOD, 

with the foot. After being sufficiently rooted, the 
young plants may have their communication with the 
parent removed, by cutting away the part of the 
branches laid down which joins them. As a de- 
fence against poachers, however, it will be prudent 
to let this remain, as it forms a snare, that, if set in 
a sufficient number of places, will render the forest 
impassable from sunset till broad day light return. 
For the branches or shoots being pegged down as 
before described, the parts of them not covered 
with earth will be like the springs of so many 
mole traps ; and to walk among them at night, 
without being in danger of falling at every step, is 
obviously impossible. There is scarce any sort of 
tree or shrub which may not be propagated by layers 
as easily as the oak or the hazel, and all who wish 
to make their plantations secure haunts for game, 
would do well to reduce this hint to practice on an 
extensive scale. 

The wild Raspberry forms no despicable cover. 
The hare seems partial to it in making choice of a lair, 
and in the season of its fruit, it furnishes sustenance 
for a variety of birds. Nothing that can be planted 
is more hardy, or comes sooner to perfection, than 
the wild rasp, and it thrives even where the branch- 
es and foliage above it are so thick as to exclude 

3 



AND THEIR CULTURE. 



289 



every ray of the sun. All these properties render 
it an eligible material for underwood. It may be 
propagated by sowing its berries as soon as ripe, 
without any preparation of the ground whatever ; 
but the best way is to procure plants of it, putting 
them into the ground in pretty large bushes. 

The Bramble is an excellent plant for rendering 
access to a wood difficult ; and where it does not 
grow naturally, it may be propagated by sowing its 
berries as directed for those of the wild rasp. 

When underwood is planted with a view to pecu- 
niary profit by cutting it periodically, it should con- 
sist chiefly, if not entirely, of the oak and the hazel. 
The value of the former will consist in the bark ; 
the latter is always in request for hoops, walking- 
sticks, &c. 

Underwood may likewise be planted with the 
design of training it up into a succession crop of 
timber, after the first is cut down. With regard to 
oak, this is not only practicable, but may be pursued 
with the greatest advantage. When the old trees 
are felled and carried oW the ground, the oak bushes 
that formerly served as underwood are to be cut 
down, and the shoots which subsequently arise from 
them managed according to the directions in Sect. 5. 
of the foregoing chapter. A new crop may thus 

T 



290 PLANTS PROPER FOR UT^DERWOOD. 

be reared much sooner than could be done by re- 
planting the ground after the fall of the old wood. 
It is, of course, only in fir plantations, that the pre- 
caution of planting underwood, with a view to a suc- 
cession crop, can be necessary, as other species renew 
themselves by the shoots sent forth from their stools. 

In conclusion, it may be necessary to remark, that 
there are many of the shrubs and trees enumerated 
above as proper for underwood, which it would be 
unsafe to plant at the same time with the principal 
crop. The latter must be allowed to make consider- 
able progress, before we venture to introduce ma- 
terials, which, intended for a subordinate purpose, 
might take the lead. In a plantation not more than 
twenty years old, there is no occasion for underwood, 
either for ornament, or for the sake of game, as the 
branches then are near enough the ground to pre- 
vent the bad effect which is produced by bare lofty 
stems, and to afford abundant cover for whatever 
animals frequent the woods. Among trees of that 
age, but not among younger ones, we may begin 
with safety to propagate any kind of plants that can 
contribute to give a forest, in an advanced state of 
growth, closeness or beauty. 



< 291 ) 



CHAPTER X. 

SUCCESSION CROPS OF WOOD. 

One of the most arduous tasks which fall in the 
way of the forester, is the raising of trees upon ground 
from which old wood has been lately cut down. 
The difficulty, however, is often ascribed to errone- 
ous causes ; such, for instance, as the exhaustion of 
the soil by the former crop, or the inability of land 
to raise the same kind of produce twice in succes- 
sion. As to the soils being exhausted by wood, 
enough, it is hoped, has been said in our introduc- 
tory remarks to prove the notion erroneous. Every 
nurseryman is aware, that the same kind of trees may 
be raised in the same piece of ground not merely twice, 
but twenty times, and with the more success, the 
greater the number of repetitions. The true cause 
of the difficulty in question seems to be, the roots 
of the old trees, which, by rendering the ground 
hollow and open, admit the drought to a great depth, 
and thereby render it next to impossible for young 
plants to thrive among them. 

T 2 



292 SUCCESSION CROPS OF WOOD. 

The most obvious way of doing away with the 
above-mentioned evil, would be to pull up all the 
old roots before replanting the ground. This plan 
is, however, attended with very considerable expense, 
and is on that account objectionable. Another way 
in which the inconvenience may be avoided, is not 
to plant till the old roots be decayed ; but as a 
period of ten, or perhaps fifteen years, will intervene 
after the old trees are cut down before that happen, 
this plan cannot be much recommended. A third 
method, which may be adopted, is to plant in pits 
of at least double the size that would be necessary 
in common ground, taking care to cut so deep as 
that none of the old roots be left entire at the bot- 
tom. Were this plan followed, trees would grow as 
readily among the undecayed roots of an old planta- 
tion, as in any situation whatever. Failures in 
land of this description, generally arise either from 
making the pits too small, or from planting on the 
slitting or notching system, which is entirely inade- 
quate when the ground is interwoven with roots, 
through which, as through a sieve, every drop of 
moisture escapes. But by making large pits, all 
the roots which would otherwise be in close contact 
with those of the plants are removed to a proper 
distance, and along with them, that hollowness of 



SUCCESSION CROPS OF WOOD. 293 

the ground which renders it so perniciously suscep- 
tible of admitting drought. In planting firs, and 
the other kinds which require to be removed from 
the nursery while they are yet very young, on this 
plan, the pit should be first filled up, and the young 
tree afterwards placed in its centre by means of a 
common garden dibble. I know of no reasonable 
objection that can be had to this mode of proceed- 
ing, but that it will be found expensive. 

The readiest, however, as well as the cheapest way 
of raising a succession crop of wood, is to plant un- 
derwood of the proper kind for that purpose, among 
the old trees, at least 12 or 15 years before it is in- 
tended to cut them down, if it has not been done at 
an earlier period. When the latter are removed, 
the former will become the principal crop in its 
turn ; and as its roots will already be well establish- 
ed in the ground, it may be trained up into timber 
with the greatest facility. The method of planting 
underwood for this purpose, is explained at another 
place*, and it will be only necessary here to give some 
directions for its treatment after the old trees are 
cut down. When this takes place, the underwood 
will have rather an unpromising appearance. Be- 



* Supra, p. 270, &c. 



294 SUCCESSION CROPS OF WOOD. 

sides its naturally drawn up and scraggy aspect, most 
of it will have been disfigured by the falling of the 
trees, and to an inexperienced eye it will seem utterly 
unsusceptible of ever being brought to any thing su- 
perior to brushwood. By proceeding with it, how- 
ever, according to the following plan, it will soon 
assume a more favourable appearance. Cut it all 
down within two or three inches of the ground, with 
the exception of bushes here and there, which ought 
to be left for the purpose of shelter. This work 
should be performed in the winter season, and the 
following summer strong and healthy shoots will be 
sent forth. These are afterwards to be thinned and 
pruned as occasion may require, and the repetition 
of these processes at proper intervals, will be all the 
labour necessary to train up these shoots into fine 
and thriving trees. 

These remarks relate to the raising of succession 
crops of wood when the former crop consisted of firs. 
Most of the hard-wooded species send forth shoots 
or suckers from the roots after the trees are cut 
down ; and these suckers may with great facility be 
trained up into timber. It is singular, that, except- 
ing in the case of the oak alone, scarce any attention 
should have ever been given to this method of re- 
newing plantations, — especially as a shoot springing 



SUCCESSION CROPS OF WOOD. 295 

from an old root will grow nearly as fast again as 
a young plant brought from the nursery. 

The elm, ash, plane and beech, to say nothing of 
the oak, which is treated of by itself, all reproduce 
themselves in this way, though some of them with 
less certainty than others. The roots of the elm 
almost infallibly put forth suckers, whatever age 
the tree may be when cut down. The same is 
true of the ash, if it be cut down before it exceeds 
a hundred, or a hundred and twenty years old. 
The root of the plane is somewhat more shy than any 
of the former in putting forth suckers, yet it seldom 
fails to do so if the tree have not stood more than 
a century. Last in the scale is the beech, which, 
indeed, will scarce renew itself from the root if the 
latter is very old. The birch, alder, willows and 
poplars, likewise send forth suckers from the roots 
after the trees are cut down, but these species are 
of less consideration than those above mentioned. 

The treatment which the shoots thus arising 
from all these varieties require, in order to train 
them up into trees, is the same as for those of the 
oak, and the reader is referred to Chapter VIII. 
Section 5., in which the method of raising succession 
crops of that tree is explained. It will not, how- 
ever, be necessary to be at so great pains with 



296 SUCCESSION CROPS OF WOOD. 

the stools of the varieties now under consideration, 
immediately after the trees are cut down, as is 
there recommended. They need not receive any 
dressing before the shoots make their appearance, 
care however being taken, in felling the trees, not to 
peel off the bark of the stools below the surface of 
the ground. The shoots that arise from them are 
to be treated precisely as is directed for those of the 
oak, being thinned out gradually, and pruned as 
necessity may require. 

I have known shoots springing up from the old 
root of an ash, elm or plane, grow four or five feet 
in one season. This progress is greater than is 
usually made by plants of any of these kinds 
brought from the nursery, for several years after 
they are placed in their new situation ; I must, 
therefore, repeat, that it is a fact of a very singular 
nature, that scarce any attempt should have ever 
been made to renew hard-wood plantations in the 
manner now described. 

When plantations of Scots firs are cut down, if 
sheep and cattle be excluded, considerable numbers 
of seedling plants of the Scots fir often make their 
appearance, from cones which had been shed in for- 
mer years. These seedlings are found to succeed 
much better among fresh roots, than such as are tran- 



SUCCESSION CHOPS OF WOOD. 297 

sported thither from the nursery. They should, there- 
fore, be carefully protected, as well on their own ac- 
count, as that they will serve the purpose of nurses to 
such plants as it may be necessary to introduce, in or- 
der to fill up the ground after the old roots are decay- 
ed. This last remark relates chiefly to cases in which 
no underwood of the proper kinds for being trained 
up into timber has been planted before the old trees 
were eut down. 



( m ) 



CHAPTER XI. 



ACCOUNT OF SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD OF 
GIVING IMMEDIATE EFFECT TO WOOD. 



In improving natural landscape by artificial 
means, nothing is of greater importance than wood, 
without which, scenery of every kind is destitute of 
its principal charm. Hence the slowness with 
which wood, when treated on the common plan, ge- 
nerally arrives at maturity, has ever been matter of 
lamentation and regret to ornamental planters ; and, 
a great interest consequently attaches to any ex- 
pedient for producing grown trees in the proper 
situations, with that degree of celerity which is so 
desirable in landscape-gardening. The method of 
transplanting large trees, lately published by Sir 
Henry Steuart of Allanton, whose operations 
and improvements in this particular department have 
been extensive and important, has met with great 
approbation, and appears to be the best system yet 
offered to the public, both in a scientific and practi- 
cal point of view. Sir Henry points out in a clear 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 2199 



and forcible manner, a safe and practicable process, 
by which grown trees may be removed to any de- 
sired situation at a moderate expense, in cases where 
a proprietor has proper subjects of his own, or can 
obtain them at a short distance from the spots in 
which he wishes them placed. It is the design of 
this chapter to give an account of this method as 
briefly as is consistent with perspicuity, the reader 
being referred for more ample details, and, in gene- 
ral, for the scientific principles on which this me- 
thod is founded, to Sir Henry's own work on the 
subject, intituled " The Planter's Guide, or a Prac- 
tical Essay on the best method of giving immediate 
Effect to Wood." 

The practical directions are delivered according 
to the following arrangement, viz. : — 1. Selection 
of subjects for removal. 2. Preparation of the soil 
for their reception. 3. Preparation of the trees them- 
selves previous to removal. 4. Taking up and 
transportation of the trees. 5. Planting of the 
trees in their new situations. 6. After-manage- 
ment. 

Selection of Subjects. 

In order that large trees may have a due chance 
of success when removed, it is necessary that they 



300 SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 

should possess the following qualities ; first. Thick- 
ness and induration of bark ; secondly, Stoutness 
and girth of stem ; thirdly, Numerousness of roots 
and fibres; and, four thly. Extent, balance, and 
closeness of branches. These Sir Henry Steu- 
art has designated Protecting Properties, and the 
i^ationale which he gives of them is in substance as 
follows. 

Thickness and induration of bark are absolutely 
necessary for every tree that is to be placed either 
single, or in a small group, in order to defend 
its sap-vessels from the injurious effects of cold. 
This principle is deduced from the circumstance, 
that Nature, who does nothing in vain, gives to all 
exposed trees a much denser and harder outer coat 
than to such as have the advantage of shelter from ex- 
ternal objects. Thus, on examining a single or an ex- 
posed tree, we always find that its bark exceeds both 
in thickness and induration that of another of the 
same age and species, in the heart of a large planta- 
tion, where closeness of shelter renders it unneces- 
sary that the tree should be provided mth the 
means of self- protection independently of foreign 
aid. Hence we may easily see the folly of remov- 
ing a tree to an open situation, from a closely shel- 
tered one, nature having never qualified it for such a 
change. 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES- 301 

Girth and strength of stem are obviously necessa- 
ry for such trees as have to stand in open sites, in 
order that they may be enabled to resist the force 
of the wind. This, which may be deduced from 
mechanical principles alone, is amply confirmed by 
observation, a tree which has been exposed from the 
first being always much thicker in proportion to 
its height, than another of the same kind protected 
from its infancy by the shelter of surrounding ob- 
jects. 

Numerousness of roots and fibres is a property 
absolutely necessary, whatever be the nature of the 
exposure into which a large tree may be removed. 
Roots serve two purposes to vegetables, — they give 
them stability, and, what is of still greater import- 
ance, they supply the nourishment from the earth, 
without which no vegetation can take place. It 
is, indeed, highly necessary for the transplantation 
even of the youngest trees, that they should have 
good roots ; and the necessity must be still greater 
in aged ones; the removal of which, under the 
most favourable circumstances, implies no inconsi- 
derable degree of violence. 

The fourth qualification required is extent, ba- 
lance and closeness of branches. The principal mo- 



302 SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 

tive which will influence any one to remove an old 
tree, will be to impart ornament or shelter to some 
place destitute of wood. But in the extent, ba- 
lance and closeness of the branches of a tree, both 
its beauty and its power of affording shelter chiefly 
consist. Independently, therefore, of any use which 
the branches may be of to the success of trees when 
transplanted, there is very strong inducement to se- 
lect them with the best possible tops, and preserve 
these tops from all injury and mutilation. It so 
happens, however, that the branches of a tree are 
nearly as necessary for its growth as the roots them- 
selves. They carry the leaves, and without the 
leaves the sap cannot be elaborated so as to become 
food for the tree. The sap is first extracted from 
the earth by the roots ; it passes from the roots to 
the stem, and from the stem to the branches, and 
thence to the leaves, by the sensible and insensible 
respiration of which, and by communication with 
the atmosphere, it first becomes fit for the pur- 
poses of nutrition. It then gradually circulates 
back again, feeding in its way, first, the branches ; 
secondly, the stem ; and last of all, the roots, which 
are therefore as much dependent on the branches, 
as the branches on them. To mutilate the top of 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 303 

a tree, then, when about to be removed, as was 
formerly the practice, is one of the surest means for 
its destruction. 

Such being the properties which large trees ought 
to possess, in order to qualify them for removal, it 
is plain that large and close plantations are not the 
places in which the transplanter should look for 
subjects, whether he intend to plant singly or in 
groups. We have already seen that the requisite 
thickness of bark and girth of stem are only to 
be found in open situations, as shelter is equally 
unfavourable to both existing in that degree which 
will enable a tree to be removed into exposure with- 
out injury. One of the uses of the bark is to ex- 
clude cold from hurting the sap- vessels ; now, when 
a tree grows amidst the shelter of other trees, that 
shelter in proportion to the cold it wards off, or the 
heat it confines, renders less necessary the protecting 
power of the bark, which is reduced in thickness 
and induration accordingly. What renders a 
close wood unfavourable to due girth of stem is 
equally plain. All vegetables tend to grow towards 
the light, and are attracted by it. But when trees 
grow close together, this agent is in a manner ex- 
cluded from reaching them sideways. Their ten- 
dency is accordingly upwards, — their stems are tall 



304 SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 

in proportion to their girth, — and they send out 
extremely few side shoots. The last mentioned 
fact makes them deficient also in another of the 
protecting properties, namely, extent, balance and 
closeness of branches. But the branches and roots 
being relative and co-relative, that is, mutually de- 
pendant on each other, it follows that a deficiency 
in the former implies a like deficiency in the latter. 
Thus, trees growing together in thick woods or 
groves, will be found to possess none of the protect- 
ing properties, in such a degree as to render them 
eligible for transplantation ; and it is proper to re- 
mark here, that Sir Henry Steuart's first experi- 
ments were made on trees of this kind ; which ex- 
periments, as he informs us, succeeded extremely ill. 
We have, therefore, a practical demonstration of 
what has now been advanced, independently of 
theory altogether. 

The transplanter of large trees should therefore 
endeavour to find his subjects, if possible, in situa- 
tions well exposed to the rigours of the climate. 
Trees that grow singly are the best ; and next to 
them, in the possession of the protecting properties, 
such as may be found in single rows, narrow belts, 
and small clumps. If he cannot command a suffi- 
cient number of these, he must have recourse to art„ 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 305 



in order to give to individuals, belonging to larger 
masses, the qualifications they possess not by na- 
ture, and must patiently wait the result of the pro- 
cesses necessary for that purpose. Directions for pro- 
ceeding in this case will be given below. 

Preparation of the Soil. 

The composts employed by Sir Henry Steuart, 
in preparing the soil for the trees, whether in open or 
in close dispositions of wood, 2ixe, first, Quicklime re- 
cently burnt, mixed with clayey matter for the light 
land ; secondly. Mild lime with sandy soil for the 
aluminous ; and, thirdly, Quicklime with peat-moss 
for the loamy. To each of the two soils first-men- 
tioned, he usually gives an addition of about a third 
part of peat compost, and by procuring the peat in 
rather an advanced state of decomposition, its speedy 
preparation is more easily brought about. These 
composts he makes up generally six months before 
they be wanted. 

In preparing the ground for park planting, the 
first thing to be done is to mark out with stakes the 
position of the single and scattered trees, or groups 
of two, three, or more. Single trees being entirely 
unconnected with one another in respect to site, 

u 



306 SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 

the pits for each of them are prepared separately. 
For this purpose, if the subsoil be porous, the 
ground is trenched two feet deep. For a pit of this 
description three single cart-loads of compost are 
required, which compost must be as thoroughly mix- 
ed with the soil as possible. 

Supposing the pit intended to remain empty a 
year or more after being trenched, the work should 
proceed as follows :— The compost is first to be laid 
down round the stake, and at such distance from it, 
that none of it may be in the area of the pit. The 
dimensions are then to be marked off, so as to make 
the pit for a middle sized tree, about eighteen feet 
diameter. This being done, the trenching is to 
begin, taking care to wheel the earth taken out of 
the first trench to the opposite side of the pit, in 
order to close in the last one. The compost is to be 
dashed evenly over the surface as the work proceeds, 
every practicable means being made use of to mix 
it as thoroughly as possible with the soil. 

It is highly advantageous that the trenching 
should take place at least twelve months before the 
tree be planted, in order that the compost may have 
its full effect in promoting the pulverization of the 
soil. If this, however, should be found inconveni- 
ent, and the planters, from impatience, or any other 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 307 

cause, intend to place the tree in its new site im- 
mediately, the following plan is to be adopted : — 

In the first place, Let the compost, instead of be- 
ing laid round the circumference of the pit without 
its area, be piled up in a heap at the centre around 
the stake. This being done, the workmen are to 
proceed, not to trench, but to excavate the pit, lay- 
ing the earth taken out carefully around the edge, 
and scattering it as little as possible. Over every 
stratum a spit deep of the earth thrown out, a stra- 
tum of the compost at the centre is to be thrown, 
and when the excavation is finished, the whole mass 
must be well mixed, by tossing and turning it from 
the bottom with the spade. These operations being 
finished, the pit will be ready for the immediate re- 
ception of the tree. 

Every large tree transplanted should have eighteen 
inches, or two feet of loose mould. Let it be 
observed, however, that in making single pits in 
clayey land, the subsoil should never be pierced. 
Should this be done, the water at every shower 
that falls will be contained at the bottom as in a 
cup, without any possibility of running off, and will 
prove highly detrimental to the roots of the tree. 
Any deficiency of soil that may arise from the ob- 
servation of this rule, must be supplied by bringing 

u 2 



308 SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 

the proper quantity from some other quarter. A 
few cart-loads will in general serve the purpose, and 
as it is not requisite that it should be of a particu- 
larly fine quality, the planter may procure it with- 
out robbing his arable land, by taking advantage of 
the scourings of ditches, or he may find the necessa- 
ry supply in glens and hollow places in old planta- 
tions, where, if it be dug up in stripes here and 
there, of the breadth of a spade, and one spit in 
depth, the removal of it will do no material in- 
jury. 

The land is to be prepared for groups in a man- 
ner similar to that now described, only it is recom- 
mended, in this case, to trench the whole of the 
ground which the group is intended to occupy, in- 
stead of leaving unstirred the spaces between the 
pits. By trenching the whole piece, greater scope 
is given to the roots, besides that, by pursuing this 
method, we may penetrate into the subsoil as far 
as may be necessary to produce the proper depth of 
mould, and thus save the trouble of bringing earth 
from a distance, as no water can stagnate where 
there is no pit to hold it, but where the bottom 
of the whole being brought to the same level, all 
superabundant moisture will be drained off. 

In preparing the land for close plantations, the 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 



309 



following rules are to be observed. In the end of 
autumn trench the ground eighteen inches or two 
feet deep, according as it is of a light or of a stiff 
quality. During the progress of the trenching, if a 
manuring of compost can be spared, let it be given 
as the work proceeds. This, however, though it 
should be done if possible, is not at this stage of the 
business absolutely necessary. The ground having 
received the benefit of the winter frost, after having 
been dug, is in spring to be well dunged for a po- 
tato crop, either with common animal manure, or, 
what is better, peat- compost made with farm-yard 
dung, and twice heated and turned. The produce 
of the crop will, if the process be judiciously execu- 
ted, more than cover the expense, so that the pre- 
paration of ground for close plantations is more eco- 
nomical than for groups or single trees. In autumn, 
when the potatoes are removed, the ground is in rea- 
diness to receive the trees. 

Preparation of the Trees for Removal. 

The requisites which every large tree should pos- 
sess in order to fit it for removal, have been already 
described. We are now to show more particularly, 
where trees with these qualifications may be found, 



310 sill HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 

and how art may be made to assist nature, in pro- 
ducing such quahfications in subjects where they do 
not already exist. 

The required properties will in general be found 
in all trees that have grown singly, or in single rows, 
and have thus been fully exposed to the effects of 
the weather. This will more especially happen in 
situations where the soil is light, and of consider- 
able depth, as these circumstances are extremely fa- 
vourable to the plentiful growth of roots and fibres. 
Some of the most favourable places for finding sub- 
jects with the properties specified in full perfection, 
are old grass plots, avenues, woodlands near the 
house or kitchen-garden or the like, where the grass 
is usually kept under by the scythe. 

Trees growing in open exposures, however, have 
not universally all the protecting properties natu- 
rally. They may, for example, have good stems 
and bark, but they may be found deficient iur 
roots, in branches, or in both, from shallowness of 
soil, or from mechanical injury sustained from other 
trees. In this case, we must have recourse to art, in 
order to assist nature in the production of the qua- 
lities which are awanting. 

In order to supply deficiency in roots and bran- 
ches, let about a cart-load and a half of peat-com- 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 311 

post be taken, or a like quantity of coal-ash, for a 
tree of the middle size ; to which add four or five 
cart-loads of tolerable mould of an opposite quality, 
if possible, to that of the ground. These ingredi- 
ents are to be thoroughly mixed, and raised in a 
heap around the stem of the tree. They are then 
to be spread in a sloping direction outwards, to the 
farthest extent of the roots, keeping them about six 
inches deep at the extremities, and double that 
depth at the stem. During the first year after this 
is done, the fibres of the roots will strike upwards, 
and pervade the whole mass, and, by this means, 
both roots and branches will be so materially im- 
proved, that in the course of three or four years the 
tree will become a fit subject for removal. 

Should the roots alone be defective, the following 
easier method may be adopted : let a trench thirty 
inches wide be opened round the tree, and if you 
intend it to remain four years, let the distance of this 
trench from the stem be three feet; or let it be six feet, 
if you intend to remove the tree at the end of two 
years, the shortest space that can be allowed between 
such treatment and transplantation. In the first 
case, the depth of the trench must at least meet the 
subsoil, excavating the side next the tree, so as that 
the roots may in some degree be undermined ; or if 



31^ SIR HENRY STEUART's METHOD 

the tree happen to be of a tap-rooted species, going 
down near a foot deeper, and opening a drain to 
carry off any water which might lodge at the bot- 
tom. After this, all that is necessary is to make the 
earth as fine as it can be broken by the spade, and 
to return it into the trench, putting what was for- 
merly the sm-face below the rest, in order to give 
every facility to the production of fibres. If the 
tree is to remain only for two years, the same pro- 
cess is to take place, with this difference, that on the 
south and south-west sides two or three of the 
strongest roots are to be left uncut, to act as stays 
against the wind when the tree is transplanted. 

Somuchfor the preparation of trees standing singly. 
We now proceed to give some directions of a similar 
kind, for those growing in large masses, which, in ex- 
tensive operations, it will generally be necessary to 
have recourse to, from not being able to procure a suf- 
ficient number of others. The most proper masses 
of trees for the designs of the planter, are clumps, 
belts, and groves of no great extent, and from 
thirty to thirty-five years old. Such parcels of trees 
Sir Henry Steuart prefers for what he terms a 
Transplanting Nursery. To prepare them for re- 
moval, they should in the first place be gradually 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 313 

thinned out, so as to admit the full influence of the 
light and air. 

If the planter, however, have access to none of 
these smaller collections, his only recourse will he to 
form a nursery out of some ordinary plantation. 
The hest plantation for this purpose will be one of 
which the mould is friable, and the subsoil dry, these 
qualifications being necessary for the proper develop- 
ment of the roots. It is farther necessary, that the 
trees should have been timously and judiciously 
thinned. A spot of this kind being pitched upon, 
all such firs as may have served the purpose of 
nurses, and are not yet removed, are to be cleared 
away, and all the hard- wood trees that are weak or 
unsightly grubbed up by the roots. 

These preliminaries being finished, the ground is 
next to be trenched eighteen inches deep, leaving, 
however, about the trees which will be first ready for 
removal, about five feet broad untouched with the 
spade ; and two or three roots to each should be left 
uncut on the stormy side. Three feet in diameter 
of solid ground, will be enough to leave round the 
others, two or three of their roots also being left en- 
tire as above. During the execution of the work, 
some tolerable mould, to the depth of a foot near 
the stem, and not less than six inches at the ex- 



Sl% sill HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 

tremities of the roots, should be thrown up, to en- 
courage the growth of new fibres. If the nursery 
be near the verge of the plantation, the two outside 
rows must be left unthinned, during the first two 
years, as a protection against the wind. All this 
work should be executed between November and 
April. 

In the month last named, the whole surface is to 
be well dunged, either with fermented peat-compost, 
which is best, or, failing that, with farm-yard manure. 
The ground should then be cropped with flax, 
barley or early oats, which, with a crop of hay the 
following season, will more than cover the expense 
of the whole operation. 

It is proper to notice before leaving this part of 
the subject, that in a transplanting nursery, the axe 
and hedge-bill ought to be employed as well as the 
pick and spade, not indeed to mutilate the trees, 
but to fashion their tops into such forms, as may be 
most requisite to render them ornamental. In order 
to render them tall and spiral, all the lower branches 
may be cut away, and such others as rival the lead- 
ing stem. If low and spreading tops be required, 
on the contrary, the leader should be headed down ; 
and these operations are to be repeated from time 
to time, till the desired shapes be produced. 



OF TKANSrLANTING LARGE TREES. 315 



Taking up and Transporting of the Trees, 

Of all points in the removal of the trees, the most 
important is the preservation of the roots. If pos- 
sible, not a fibre should be lost ; and the process, 
therefore, requires not only manual skill, but a very 
considerable degree of care and patience. The im- 
plements to be used in the operation are the spade 
and the tree-picker. The latter is an instrument 
resembling a miner's pick, but it has only one prong, 
which is more inclined to the handle than in the 
miner's implement. The prong is fifteen inches 
long, and is made extremely light, as is likewise the 
handle, which is two feet and a-half long, the joint 
weight of both being about four and a-half pounds. 

Before proceeding to take up a tree, the boundaries 
of the root must be ascertained. This is easy when the 
tree has been surrounded by a trench, as the trench 
will mark the termination of the fibres. In other 
cases there is greater difiiculty, and the extremities of 
the roots must be sought for with the picker, at least 
as far from the tree as the branches have extended. 
The necessary scrutiny being made, and the object 
of it accomplished, open a trench at the utmost 
limit of the root, two feet and a half wide, and as 
deep as the roots have penetrated. The bank must 
then be undermined on the side where the roots lie, in 



316 SIR HENRY STEUART's METHOD 

order to facilitate the operation of the picker. Two 
workmen are then to scratch up the roots, while 
another clears the trench of the earth which they 
produce. Thus as many workmen may he employ- 
ed as is found convenient, three and three together 
in different parts. Every effort must be made to 
preserve the minutest fibres, and not to bruise or 
bark any of the larger roots. The pickmen must 
therefore observe not to strike across the latter, 
but as much as possible in the line of their elonga- 
tion, and contriving by a dexterous shake of the in- 
strument, to be acquired only by practice, to make 
it slip into the spaces between the ramifications, in- 
stead of coming down directly upon them. 

As the operation proceeds, the roots disengaged 
must be carefully bundled up, in order to make 
room for the workmen, as well as to avoid injury 
from the implement and the feet. When the men 
have approached within four or five feet of the stem, 
the process of extrication should cease, and the rest 
of the earth be left entire, with two or three feet of 
the original sward adhering to it if possible. 

Measures must now be taken to pull down the 
tree, and get it out of the pit. With this view, let 
a strong but soft rope, of about four inches in girth, 
be fixed as near the top as a man can safely climb, 



OF TKA^JSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 3-17 

takiug care to interpose two or three folds of mat to 
prevent the bark from being chafed. Seven or eight 
workmen are then to draw the tree down on one 
side, or a steady pulling horse may be employed, 
whose power will have much greater effect. The 
tree being pulled down so far, is to be held in that 
position till a foot or more of earth be raised below 
its roots on the opposite side. Being let go, it will 
spring up until its roots come in contact with and 
rest upon this bank. It is then to be pulled down on 
the other side, and a bank of earth raised as before, 
and so alternately, till its lowest roots be brought 
to a level with the mouth of the pit, which, being 
accomplished, it is ready for transportation. Be- 
fore proceeding to describe that part of the busi- 
ness, however, we must warn the reader, that if the 
tree is not to be immediately removed after the 
roots or part of them are laid bare, that is, if it be 
to remain where it is but for a single night, a cover- 
ing of the branches of the spruce or silver fir, with 
a layer of turf above them, must be applied, to pre- 
vent the bad effects of drought or of frost. Either 
of these would do incalculable injury to the fibres in 
a very short time ; and it is therefore of the great- 
est importance that the caution now given be care- 
fully attended to. 



318 



SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 



The transportation is performed by means of a 
machine made for the purpose, and drawn by horses. 
This carriage consists of a strong pole, and two 
wheels running on an iron axle, similar to that of a 
cart ; with a smaller wheel, occasionally used, which 
is fixed at the extremity of the pole, and turns on a 
pivot. The third wheel, however, has seldom or 
never been used by Sir Henry, on account of the 
extensive injury that it would do to the branches. 
Accurate directions for constructing different ma- 
chines of this sort, are given in his Treatise. 

The tree being in readiness, the wheels of the 
machine are to be brought close up to it. This 
being done, ascertain from the shape of the stem, 
and the character of the ramification, on what side 
it will lie most firmly on the machine. If there be 
the smallest bend, the convex side must be upper- 
most, otherwise the tree will be in danger of turning 
round, to the production of much injury to itself, 
and of great vexation, as well as some danger, to 
those who have the charge of it. Care should also 
be taken to prevent, if possible, any of the roots or 
branches from sweeping the ground. Fully to ac- 
complish this, however, will often be found imprac- 
ticable. 

Before the tree be taken down, the director of 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 319 

the work should put a mark with chalk, or the like, 
on that side of the tree which faces the stormy quar- 
ter, or on which its branches are shortest, to point 
out how it is to he placed in its future site. The 
pole of the machine is now to he raised and brought 
in contact with the tree, an active workman being 
sent aloft to lash the pole as firmly as possible to 
the stem, taking care, by redoubled folds of mat, to 
secure the bark from any injury it might receive 
from the iron- ring at the point of the pole. A 
double rope of the stoutest kind must then be pass- 
ed under the root, so as to seize it firmly, and ba- 
lance it on the upper stage of the cross-bar, rack- 
pins, such as those used by waggoners, being em- 
ployed to tighten the rope. Next, let the tree be 
brought to a horizontal position, securing its roots 
and branches by proper bandages from friction on 
the wheels or ground. 

The horses being fastened to the machine, the 
machiner, or person among the workmen who is 
most expert at this part of the business, seizes the 
end of the pole rope that he may act as steersman, 
taking post three or four yards in the rear, and be- 
ing provided with a stout assistant. One or two 
more of the workmen are stationed beneath the pole 
to bear up the top at first starting, while all the 
others apply their strength to the wheels. The 



320 SIR HENRY STEU art's METHOD 



signal being then given, the machine starts, and if, 
after proceeding a few yards, the load does not seem 
to he properly balanced, it must he re-adjusted by 
sending up some of the workmen to the top, or other 
artifice. 

Planting of the Trees in their new Situations, 

If the pit has been trenched a year previously, as 
above directed, the opening of it now will be easy, and 
some of the workmen should be sent before for this 
purpose, as soon as the machine with the tree is fairly 
under way. Let the earth be thrown out regularly 
on all sides to the depth of fourteen or fifteen inches 
at first, leaving next the inside edge a space of 
eighteen inches or two feet clear. When the ma- 
chine approaches, it will be easy to determine by the 
eye whether this be deep enough, and if not, the 
deficiency must be mended, making, if the tree is 
tap-rooted, the centre somewhat deeper than the 
sides, and scooping out the earth in the shape of a 
cup. The planter should always remember that it 
is advantageous to set the tree as shallow as possi- 
ble, that there may be sufficient pabulum for the 
roots. 

The machine ought to approach the pit in such a 
direction, as that the tree, when raised to a vertical 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. S21 



position, may present what was formerly its weather 
side to the opposite quarter. By thus altering its 
aspect, the part of its top most deficient in branches 
will be materially improved afterwards, and this, in 
fact, is the surest artifice that can be employed, in 
order to give it a regular and uniform head. 

Before the tree be placed in its site, it is neces- 
sary that some means be taken to ascertain its posi- 
tion. For this purpose, fix a stake exactly in the 
centre of the pit, and let two of the workmen retire 
about six yards from its edge, one on the north or 
south, and the other on the east or west side of it. 
Each of them must then fix a pole in the ground, and 
observe what tree or other object falls in the same 
line with it and the stake at the centre of the pit, 
where the lines thus described will intersect each 
other. The stake in the pit is then to be with- 
drawn, and a piece of green turf put in its place, so 
that the tree may be dropped with mathematical 
precision on the proper place. 

All these preparations being finished, as they will 
be very rapidly if the workmen are well trained, the 
machine is to be brought forward till the wheels are 
in contact, or nearly so, with the earth thrown out 
of the pit. The horses are then to be taken off, 
and the machine brought up right on the centre by 

X 



322 SIR HENRY STEUART's METHOD 

the united strength of the workmen. In order that 
this may be done properly, the director and another 
person must station themselves on the outside of 
the pit, transverse to each other, and so that the 
line of sight from the point where each stands may 
be equally at right angles to the line of the ma- 
chine's direction. The workman who is placed im- 
mediately opposite to the machine directs the ad- 
vance of each wheel, while the other, occupying the 
transverse station, orders a halt to be made at the 
proper moment, and in this manner the stem is 
brought directly to the centre, without being per- 
mitted to overshoot the mark. The wheels are then 
blocked to prevent their further advancement, and 
the roots and branches are untied. Two ropes are 
meantime fixed in the top transversely to each other 
to steady the tree when set up, and the roots of the 
under side are pulled toward the rear to prevent 
their being broken by the great weight of the de- 
scending mass. All these arrangements being com- 
pleted, the steersman and his assistants, with the 
balanceman, if any, on a signal being given, quit 
their stations, and the tree suddenly rises to an up- 
right position. 

Before the ropes that brace the root to the ma- 
ehine, or those that tie the pole to the stem, are 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TRKES. 3213 

loosened, care must be taken to examine, by the off- 
set poles, whether the tree is accurately deposited in 
the centre, as well as whether the longest branches 
have been brought to face exactly the stormy quar- 
ter. If any error has been committed in either of 
these particulars, the tree must be again pulled 
down, and the machine turned round to the proper 
point, which, being done, the machine is loosened 
from the tree and wheeled out of the pit. By pro- 
per care at first, extra labour of this kind may, in 
general, be avoided. 

Immediately after the machine is separated from 
the tree, the two transverse ropes are stretched, by 
putting as many hands to them as may be required 
to balance the weight. The director must then 
finally determine the interesting point of depth, to 
save trouble as well as injury to the tree in a more 
advanced stage of the proceedings. If it appears to 
be too shallow, the error must be mended, either by 
bringing from some other quarter as much additional 
earth as may be required to cover the roots to a 
proper thickness, which is the better plan, or the tree 
is to be pulled down by means of the transverse 
ropes, and excavation had recourse to. On the con- 
trary, if the depth is too great, the tree is to be 
pulled down in like manner, first on the one side, 

X 2 



324 SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 



and then on the other, and while in the leaning po- 
sition as much earth as necessary applied below it. 

A still more important point is rightly to steady 
and set straight the tree, so that it may satisfy the 
eye on the one hand, and be firmly secured against 
the wind on the other. For this purpose, the work- 
men should be divided into parties of three and 
three together as in taking up the tree. Of these 
one seizes as many as he can of the flexible lateral 
roots with both hands, and holds them aside so as 
to open a view below the tree. A second throws in 
mould of the finest sort he can find, in such a way 
as to form a bank sloping outwards against the roots 
so held aside, and treads it firmly with his feet ; 
while the third, with a blunt-pointed stake or ram- 
mer, pushes in the mould, and makes it firm in the 
cavities. All this must be done not hurriedly or at 
random, but with the utmost care ; the man who 
shovels in the earth waiting patiently for the co- 
operation of his companions. 

When the different parties meet, this part of the 
work is completed, and the next thing to be done, 
provided it has been found impossible to bring a 
large ball of earth adhering to the tree, is to let fall 
pulverized mould as fine and as dry as can be had, 
through the empty spaces of the roots from above, 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 325 



water being applied to settle it, until every vacuity 
be filled up. This management is necessary to en- 
sure no hollows being left. 

During these proceedings, the director examines 
the position of the tree by means of the offsets, and 
if he observes that it is not perfectly upright, re- 
course is had for adjustment to the transverse ropes, 
which, at this stage of the business, by putting five 
or six stout hands to work them, will still be able 
to command the tree. 

" By the above method of giving stability to the 
tree," says Sir Henry Steuart, " before any cover 
whatever is laid upon the roots, (which, I believe, 
is new and peculiar to my practice), the discerning 
reader will see that a complete safeguard against 
the wind is provided, without injury to the growth 
of the plant. This is truly the planting of the tree ; 
all else belongs to the distribution and the covering 
of the roots." 

The next part of the operation is the distribution 
of the roots, which, having been first bundled up, 
and then merely untied during the performance of 
the work now completed, will, by this time, be in a 
state of considerable disorder. Now, therefore, they 
must be carefully disentangled by the workmen, 
and stretched out in the most regular manner from 



S26 SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 

the centre. This process is gone through by divid- 
ing the workmen into parties of three and three as 
formerly. One man in each divides and separates 
the roots, another assists in the laying and distri- 
bution, and the third throws on mould as the others 
require it. The " handlers,'" that is, those engag- 
ed in distributing, lay the roots in their order, high- 
er or lower, as they proceed from the nucleus, 
stretching them out to their full length, to admit of 
which, the pit must, if necessary, be enlarged in dia- 
meter. They should be evenly spread, without 
crowding or confusion, giving all of them competent 
space in which to extend, and free scope to search 
for food. 

To accomplish these objects, " the first thing that 
the principal handler has to do, is to seize with one 
hand a parcel of the roots, and to divide them with 
the other hand into as many tiers as can conve- 
niently be laid in the depth of the pit, allowing the 
strata of earth between the tiers to be about an inch 
and a half in thickness. He then, in conjunction 
with his assistant, extends the larger roots of the 
first tier to wide distances, stretching out all the 
minor ramifications and rootlets intermediately in 
the position in which they should lie, so that no one 
should, if possible, touch another. The handlers 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 327 

having extended these with their various inflections, 
to the hreadth of seven or eight inches, or as far as 
their fingers can reach, the coverer immediately 
fixes them down, and secures that space with a little 
fine mould thrown upon it the reverse way, that is, 
in the direction of the points of the fibres ; which 
mould is immediately spread and worked in by the 
hands of the workmen or handlers, in such a man- 
ner, as that neither the mould can displace the mi- 
nutest fibres, nor exceed the thickness of a proper 
stratum. After which they go through the same 
process with the next tier, and so on vdth the 
others, till they exhaust the parcel of roots with 
which they began. 

" It sometimes happens that masses occur not far 
from the collar, branching out into small and nume- 
rous stems of no great length, which it is much more 
troublesome to deal with. With these the only 
way is to divide them into tiers, and work them in 
the vertical instead of the horizontal position. A 
quantity of the finest and most friable mould must 
be shaken in among the shortest and least extrica- 
ble fibres of these masses, so that the whole may 
have an opportunity of absorbing moisture from the 
soil." 

Such is Sir Henry Steuart's method of treating 



328 SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 

the roots, given, on account of the very great import- 
ance of this part of the process, in his own words, 
without ahridgement. He remarks farther, " It can- 
not have escaped the discerning reader, that, con- 
trary to the general practice, no decalcation or con- 
solidating of the earth has, as yet, been directed, ex- 
cept in the execution of the retaining bank round 
the nucleus of the root ; and yet the entire order- 
ing of the roots and fibres is supposed to be finished. 
But I have found, by long experience, that an an- 
xiety for immediate consolidation, which most plant- 
ers possess, is not favourable to the fibrous roots of 
woody plants, small or great. That equability of 
pressure of the soil, which gradual subsidence 
alone can give, is not to be obtained by any artifi- 
cial means yet known, and, least of all, by treading 
and pounding by the feet of workmen." 

After the roots are treated as above, the rest of 
the earth must be filled into the pit, so that, at the 
stem, it may be from twelve to fourteen inches deep. 
If the planting takes place between November and 
February, a slight treading over the whole by the 
workmen is amply sufficient to promote gradual con- 
solidation. If it be between the end of February 
and May, water should be poured on with pails from 
the height of five or six feet, as soon as the cover- 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 329 



iiig of mould is half finished. The remainder of 
the earth being filled in, taking care to put in the 
greensward first, if there be any, and regularly 
hand-laying it in such a way as is most effectual to 
retain moisture, another plentiful watering is to be 
given; and, after allowing the whole a day to subside, 
it should receive a complete decalcation or treading 
of the surface. This concludes the whole opera- 
tion. 

From the effectual securing of the nucleus of the 
root according to this method, no prop or support 
of any kind need to be applied, in order to give the 
tree stability against the force of wind. " I never," 
says Sir Henry Steuart, " prop or support a tree 
after removal ; yet not one has been blown down in 
this park in the course of thirty years : And, as to 
deaths, one in from forty to forty-five, being the 
average number, contingency may, in some sort, be 
said to be excluded from an art which has in all 
ages been proverbially unsuccessful and fortuitous." 

Treatment of the Trees subsequently to Re- 
moval. 

From all large trees newly removed, it is of the 

utmost importance that drought be excluded. It 

I 



330 SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 

will be necessary, therefore, to provide some kind of 
cover to be laid on the surface, around the stems of 
the trees, in the end of April or beginning of May, 
when dry weather commonly sets in. The refuse of 
a flax-mill, called in Scotland " shows," is recom- 
mended as the best of all substances for this pur- 
pose. Before, however, this covering is applied, it 
is proper to go over the whole surface of the pit with 
a wooden beater, of such a weight as to require two 
men to work it. In using this implement, it should 
be raised to the height of three feet or more from 
the ground, so as to descend with the utmost force. 
This operation is most essential with the beech, 
the oak, the birch, and such others as are very sen- 
sitive of drought. 

The surface must then be prepared for grass seeds, 
by fashioning the earth about the tree, if it swells 
above the surrounding surface, as it will generally 
do, into such form as may be most agreeable to the 
eye. The shows are then to be put on round the 
stem, and about two yards out from it, to the depth 
of six inches at the centre, and four at the extremi- 
ties, beating them down with the spade, in order to 
prevent the wind from taking hold of them. The 
grass seeds are then to be sown over the remainder 
of the surface, raked in and rolled. 



OF TRANSPLANTING LAllGE TREES. 331 

Round the oak and beech, the shows ought to re- 
main without being stirred for two seasons ; but with 
the other kinds that are less sensitive of drought, 
this covering may be removed at the end of the first 
summer after planting, or rather it should be point- 
ed in with the spade, if the ground be not very light, 
as the shows will improve a clayey or loamy soil. 
The space which they occupied should then be kept 
with the hoe during the next three years. 

For defending the trees from being rubbed 
upon by sheep. Sir Henry Steuart recommends 
a fence of larch-stakes, and of a peculiar construc- 
tion as the cheapest, the most effective, and the 
least disagreeable in appearance of any that he has 
tried. " They" (the stakes) " are about three feet 
three inches long, and six or seven inches in girth 
at the larger end. They are also flattened at the 
smaller end to the thickness of about three quarters 
of an inch, for applying closely to the tree, and point- 
ed at the larger, for driving them into the ground. 
The workmen, in setting them up, drive them into 
the ground, four or five inches out from the stem, and 
three asunder. The tops being flat, and about 
three inches broad, they unite in a neat manner 
round the stem, when pressed to it, and are firmly 



332! SIR HENRY STEUART'S METHOD 

bound round with marline, half twisted and pitched, 
such as is used on board of ship to secure the ends 
of the cables. A small piece of mat, four inches 
broad, is previously put between the tops of the 
stakes and the stem, to prevent chafing. As soon as 
the ring or hempen collar is put on, the workman 
who fixes it proceeds to connect it with the bracer at 
the centre, drawing the end of the marline half way 
down between the top of the stakes and the ground, 
and making it fast to one of them. From thence 
he passes it loosely round the whole, taking a turn 
round each stake, until he arrives at the point where 
he began." 

" Thus it will be perceived, that a fence for trees 
of the firmest sort is procured, and such as will last for 
nine or ten years, with occasional repairs of the mar- 
line ; which last, as it suffers by contraction and ex- 
pansion, should, after the first year, be gone over two 
or three times during the summer, and kept in good 
order. If the larger end of the stakes be dipped in 
coal tar, brought to the state of half pitch, they 
will last from twelve to fifteen years. The entire 
cost of this defence, materials and workmanship, 
does not exceed sixpence per tree." 

The first summer after planting, it is necessary 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 333 



to water the trees during drought. This is accom- 
plished by means of a watering cart, that is, a com- 
mon open cart, bearing a hogshead, or other large 
cask, and drawn by one horse. Four or five pails, 
containing sixteen or eighteen quarts each, are 
enough of water for one tree at a time. The end 
of May or beginning of June is the season to begin 
the process, provided no refreshing showers have fal- 
len for a fortnight. The watering should be repeated 
every fourth day while the drought continues. 

When a tree which has stood four or five years 
after removal, appears to be in a backward or un- 
thriving state, it may be restored to full vigour by 
the following application. " Let four cart-loads of 
earth be taken, of a quality rather opposite than 
similar to that on which it has been planted ; to 
which, let a cart-load of coal-ashes be added, with the 
rough cinders carefully riddled out. Let the whole 
be laid round the tree, after being very intimately 
mixed. Then let the composition be spread on the 
surface, from the centre outwards, about nine inches 
thick at the stem, and five or six at the extremities. 
The best time for performing the work is early in 
winter, or at all events before the month of Febru- 
ary. 



334 SIR HENRY STEUART's METHOD 

" Into materials so compounded, the minutest 
fibres or absorbents of the root will enter with avi- 
dity, on the first approach of the genial heat of 
spring ; or possibly the fine and friable nature of 
the composition may occasion an anticipation of the 
period. The buds ere long will expand, the leaves 
will be enlarged, and assume a far deeper and more 
lively green. By midsummer, the tree will have 
shot some inches ; and by the following season pro- 
bably more than a foot ; and it will continue to ex- 
hibit both established health and progressive vi- 
gour." 

Such are the principal features of the treatment 
which trees in open dispositions ought to receive 
after being transplanted. The management of such 
as have been formed into close plantations is simi- 
lar, with the exception that it is rather more sim- 
ple. In this case, it will be seldom necessary to ap- 
ply the beater, and the accurate levelling of the sur- 
face is of little consequence. Watering is to be per- 
formed once every four days in dry weather, as has 
been directed above, but not so copiously, as, the 
trees being close, less evaporation will take place 
than in open situations. The ground in all close 



OF TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES. 335 

plantations thus formed, should be kept clean with 
the hoe during the first three or four years. 



The above is as full an account as the limits of 
this volume will admit, of the practical part of Sir 
Henry Steuart's system. Those who wish to have 
a more full explanation of it, will have recourse 
to his own work on the subject, where they will 
find the true principles laid down which should re- 
gulate General Arboriculture, and raise it from the 
rank of a mechanical process to that of a scientific 
ART. They will there moreover find, that the 
manual operations above decribed are in strict ac- 
cordance with those principles, with a chemical ana- 
lysis of soils and manures, and with the physiology 
of plants. Sir Henry's system, however, has also 
received the support of experience. Its utility is 
now fully established in the improvements effected 
by means of it, not only at AUanton, the seat of the 
inventor, but in the parks of many other gentlemen, 
who have lately taken advantage of it, to improve the 
scenery about their mansions. A Committee of the 
Highland Society, composed of gentlemen who will 



336 SIR HENRY STEUART ON TRANSPLANTING. 



be allowed to be most competent judges in every 
point connected with ornamental planting and park 
scenery, inspected Sir Henry Steuart's improve- 
ments in those departments in 18^5 ; and drew up 
a report on the spot, in which they gave the fullest 
testimony to the success of his experiments. This 
report is inserted among the notes at the end of the 
work, from which the above directions have been 
extracted. 



( 337 ) 



CHAPTER XX. 

HINTS FOR GIVING QUICK EFFECT TO WOOD, IN 
THE PLEASURE GROUNDS OF GENTLEMEN'S SEATS 
AND VILLAS. 

It is unnecessary to say any thing on the desira- 
bleness of having wood around villas and country 
residences. Every one allows, that without trees, 
a gentleman's seat, whether on a large or small scale, 
is destitute of the principal charm of rural beauty, 
and can never have a pleasant effect, however well 
in other respects the ground may be laid out, or 
however elegant or picturesque the architecture of 
the dwelling and its appendages may be. By all 
persons of taste, from the extensive landholder, who 
proposes erecting a splendid mansion on his wide 
domain, to the independent but less opulent citizen, 
who wishes to build a snug rural retreat on a few 
acres of ground, the raising of trees expeditious- 
ly, when they happen to be wanting, will always be 



338 



MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 



deemed a matter of first-rate importance. The 
readiest of all methods, by which large trees can be 
attained, if circumstances can admit of its application, 
is that of Sir Henry Steuaut ; of the practical 
part of whose plan, a faint, though it is hoped a 
pretty correct, delineation has been given in the 
preceding chapter. Admirable, however, as the 
system of that gentleman unquestionably is, it will 
often be found impossible to adopt it, and that in 
the cases where wood is most wanted. A proprietor 
may have trees on some part of his estate ; and yet 
the distance may be so remote from the spot which 
he has selected for his residence, that to convey 
them thither would be utterly impracticable. Ano- 
ther may have them more conveniently situated, 
and yet be unwilling to denude the spot where they 
now grow. A third may have them at hand, but 
at the same time be disinclined to incur the expense 
of removal. As for those who purchase a small spot 
for the purpose of erecting either a suburban or 
more retired villa, it is seldom indeed that they 
find their property ready furnished with full grown 
wood ; and it will in general be impossible, even were 
the cost no objection, to purchase in the neighbour- 
hood old trees fit for being transplanted. In each 
of these cases, therefore, it will be necessary, either 



OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 



339 



to be content without trees— to wait for their slow 
arrival at maturity, according to the common mode 
of treatment — or to have recourse to some method of 
accelerating their growth when planted young, dif- 
ferent from any that has been recommended in the 
previous part of this work. 

That trees planted at the early age at which they 
are commonly removed from the nursery, may be 
reared to such a state as will render them efficient 
both for ornament and shelter, much sooner than is 
commonly attained, will appear probable, at least, 
from the following considerations. In the first 
place, it is possible to make a far better selection 
of kinds for this purpose than is usually done. Se^ 
condly, Much better plants of every kind might be 
easily procured, than are commonly made use of, 
even in cases where quickness of growth is a princi- 
pal object. Thirdly^ The ground itself could be 
put in a more favourable state for the acceleration 
of growth, than we see practised in one out of a 
thousand instances ; and, fourtJdy, The manage- 
ment after planting might be very materially im- 
proved. That the making choice of such plants as 
are naturally quick growers, using none of any de- 
scription but such as are vigorous and healthy, put- 
ting the land in the most favourable state to pro- 

Y 2 



84*0 MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 

mote their growth, and managing the plantation in 
a suitable manner afterwards, are circumstances 
which will contribute in no small degree to accele- 
rate vegetation, no one will deny ; and as little can 
it be doubted, that, in general at least, they are com- 
pletely under the control of the planter. To attend 
duly to them all, will indeed be productive of more 
expense in laying out a plantation, than in forming 
it on the common plan ; but the extra disbursement 
of money, which will be required in proceeding accord- 
ing to the following directions, will be found much 
more moderate than at first might be supposed- In 
a park of 100 acres, after deducting for walks, 
lawns, gardens, shrubberies, building stances, water, 
&c., the extent in wood will not perhaps in general 
much exceed 50 acres. Now, L. 30 an acre more 
than what would be necessary on the common plan, 
will, with judicious management, put a plantation 
into the most favourable circumstances, as to each 
of the above mentioned points, in which it can be 
placed. In such a case, the additional expense will 
amount to L. 1500, a sum which will not be consi- 
dered a very great sacrifice, by a person who can 
afford to lay out 100 acres in pleasure grounds. 
In a villa on a small scale, two or three acres, or 
sometimes not more than half an acre, will be the 



OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 



341 



utmost space that can be allowed for trees. The 
expense here dwindles down to a sum that is with- 
in the means of any one, who can afford to have a 
country house and pleasure grounds of his own, and 
will scarce be grudged by any person who is anxi- 
ous to enjoy the ornament and shelter of his own 
plantations, provided he can be convinced, that, by 
proceeding according to the following directions, 
his trees will make as much progress in ten or 
twelve years as they will do in thirty, according to 
the mode of cukivation commonly adopted. 

KINDS OF TREES WHICH IT IS NECESSARY TO 
INTRODUCE. 

In order to obtain large trees in the least possi- 
ble time, it will be necessary to introduce liberally 
those kinds which are naturally of the quickest 
growth. It is not meant that they should be ex- 
clusively used, or that, on their account, any varieties 
that may be more valuable, more ornamental, when 
they have attained their full size, or which may bet- 
ter suit the taste of the planter, should be neglected. 
They can be introduced so as to serve the double 
purpose of affording ornament and shelter, till such 
time PS the slower species have reached a due 



342 MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 

size ; and to perform the part of nurses to the lat- 
ter, whose growth will by this means be much ac- 
celerated. The kinds most proper for contributing to 
these ends in ornamental planting, are the different 
kinds of Poplars, the yellow-barked and white-leaved 
Willows, the Birch, the Mountain Ash, and the 
Laburnum. Most of these kinds have the advantage 
of answering on several varieties of soil, and except- 
ing the Black Poplar, they may all be successfully 
planted, whether the nature of the ground be moist 
or dry. The Lombardy and whiteJeaved Poplars, 
the golden or yellow willow, and the white leaved 
species, though they be reckoned marsh plants, will 
thrive, if they have sufficient depth of mould, in 
any situation that is not absolutely parched. In 
spots that are considerably elevated, and where the 
soil is thin, the birch and the mountain ash, toge- 
ther with the laburnum, will furnish the most certain 
and the readiest cover ; and in grounds that contain 
more than the average degree of moisture, the black 
poplar and the willows should be most liberally em- 
ployed, though not to the entire exclusion of the 
others. 

The white-leaved willows, the black and Lom- 
bardy poplars, will, with the treatment after men- 
tioned, attain the height of from 2!5 to 30 feet in 



OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 



343 



ten or twelve years. The birch will be from 15 to 
20 feet high in that time, and the laburnum and 
mountain ash will have nearly attained their maxi- 
mum stature. Plantations which contain trees of 
this size are in a condition to answer almost every 
purpose of ornament and shelter. At a period much 
earlier than this, they will exhibit a very interest- 
ing appearance, and if they be not far enough ad- 
vanced to give a solemn and venerable air to the si- 
tuation where they appear, they will at least, which 
is^ no small matter, redeem it completely from the 
character of being bare and shelterless. So early as 
the sixth or seventh year, the poplars and willows 
mil average from 10 to 14 feet in height. The la- 
burnum will be arrayed in the spring, in all the 
splendour of its beautiful yellow spikes of flowers, 
and the youthful mountain ash will be adorned in 
autumn with its bunches of coral berries. None of 
these species may possess the imposing grandeur, 
even when at their best, of full grown oaks, beeches, 
sycamores, elms or chesnuts, but the contempt with 
which some affect to speak of them as ornamental 
trees is mere fastidiousness. The silver or white 
poplar is a beautiful tree, whether its bark or leaves 
be regarded. The variety called the Lombardy 
poplar is remarkable for its tall, slender, and grace- 



344 MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 

ful form. When agitated by the wind, it exhibits 
the most perfect freedom from restraint in its mo- 
tions. As often as it feels the impulse of the breeze, 
the whole tree makes a free and unbroken sweep 
from top to bottom. The shape of its leaves is very 
fine ; they vibrate when there is the least circulation 
in the air, and make an agreeable rustling when all 
around is breathless silence. The black poplar pos- 
sesses fewer charms than either of the former. It 
has, however, this advantage over both, that its 
leaves appear much earlier in spring, at which sea- 
son they have a fine yellow tint, and emit a most 
agreeable odour. The beauties of the weeping 
birch are admitted by all ; and few sights in the 
vegetable world are more gratifying than the moun- 
tain ash, either in the vernal season when it is 
covered with blossoms, or in the autumnal when it 
is loaded with its bunches of coral berries. Both 
the golden and white leaved willows are magnificent 
trees, carrying large tops, and when they wave in 
the gale, the gracefulness of their movements is un- 
rivalled. From the colour of their leaves, too, they 
make a fine variety among others whose verdure is 
of a deeper green. 

It is not meant, as has been already hinted, that 
these quick growing species should exclude others 



OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 



345 



which are generally deemed of a nobler character, 
such as the Horse-chesnut, the Beech, the Elm, the 
Ash, and the Oak. On the contrary, the latter are 
to be considered ultimately as the principal part 
of the plantation ; but the introduction of the former 
in considerable numbers in the first instance, is the 
only means by which a speedy cover can be obtained. 
Instead of impeding the others, they will, as has al- 
ready been observed, serve the purpose of nurses, 
and may be gradually and slowly removed after the 
seventh or eighth year, till no more of them remain by 
the sixteenth or eighteenth, than may be subservient 
to variety, or suit the fancy of the proprietor. In 
land eminently qualified for the elm, ash, and horse- 
chesnut, the poplars, &c. may be introduced pretty 
sparingly, as these species are themselves quick 
growers ; but when the soil is of a quality that suits 
better with the beech and oak, a much greater num- 
ber should be used. 



CHOICE OF PLANTS. 

Another point of very great importance to be ob- 
served in planting, with a view to speedy effect, is 
to make use of no plants of any kind, but such as 
are in a healthy and vigorous state. A plant that 



346 MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 

has been drawn up weak, or stunted by improper 
usage in the nursery, will at the first outset fall se- 
veral years growth behind another, that has been 
put into the ground at the same time, but in a 
sound condition. In order to ensure the possession 
of this indispensable qualification, it will be neces- 
sary to be at somewhat greater expense than is 
usual in common planting. The plants ought not 
to be taken at random as they grow in the nursery 
lines, but the best and healthiest ones selected from 
these lines. Or, if any inconvenience should arise 
in following this plan, from the nurseryman being 
unwilling to pick his plants, or from his charging 
an extravagant price as the terms of such a bargain, 
the better way for the buyer will be to purchase 
them, as is commonly done, good and bad as they 
stand, and to pick them afterwards for himself 
making choice only of the finest plants. The prin- 
ciple on which the selection ought to proceed, should 
be to reject all but such plants as are in a perfect- 
ly sound and healthy state. The signs of health 
are, that the bark be perfectly fresh, unpeeled and 
unruffled ; that none of the branches, even the 
smallest of them, be decayed, withered or dead at 
the points ; that the girth be in due proportion to 
the height, and that the roots be numerous and well 



OF PLEASURE GKOUNDS. 



347 



furnished with fibres. All plants that labour under 
any of the defects, or want any of the requisites, now 
mentioned, ought to be unceremoniously rejected. If 
the selection proceed according to these rules, it 
will often happen that 150 or 200 out of every 
thousand will be thrown aside. This will increase 
the expense L. 3 or L. 4 perhaps on every 5000 or 
6000 ; but the sacrifice will be more than compen- 
sated by the extraordinary uniformity and vigoiu: 
with which the plantation will come forward. 

No plants should be chosen that have stood 
more than four years in the nursery line. The 
high rent of lands often hinders nurserymen from al- 
lowing so much room to their young trees when they 
transplant them, as is necessary for their remaining 
any considerable number of years, and when they 
stand long, they are almost inevitably drawn up 
weak, or otherwise injured. Some of the kinds, 
such as the mountain ash and poplars, will be of 
sufficient size, if they have stood two years in the 
nursery lines ; the one having been removed from 
the seed-bed when one year old, and the other hav- 
ing been originally planted as cuttings. Two years 
in the line are amply sufficient for the birch. As 
for the oak, it should not, even in ornamental plant- 
ing, be taken from the nursery at all, but its acorns 



348 



MEAKS OF SPEEDY WOODING 



should be used according to the plan described in 
the foregoing part of this work. 

PREPARATION OF GROUND. 

Another point that must be carefully attended to, 
is the preparation of the ground, and on this being 
executed properly, the quickness of the plantation's 
progress will most of all depend. In planting with 
a view chiefly to profit, it is better to let the ground 
remain in its original state, or nearly so, not only in 
order to avoid expense, but that the wood may not 
be deteriorated in quality, which, in many species of 
trees, it will be, if its growth be greatly accelerated 
by artificial means. Besides, where hundi*eds and 
thousands of acres of rough uncultivated moor are 
to be planted, ploughing, trenching, and especially 
manuring, are altogether impracticable ; and to ad- 
vise such operations, or speak of them as necessary 
in such cases, is in other words to dissuade from 
extensive planting in our waste land. When, 
however, it is not profit, but ornament, that is in 
view, the case is entirely altered, and every means 
of accelerating the growth of the trees, so as to 
make them serve their intended purpose as expedi- 



OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 



349 



tiously as possible, may be legitimately recommend- 
ed. Hence, in the department of planting now un- 
der consideration, it will be proper to trench the 
ground, to add to the depth of soil if necessary, and 
to enrich it by the liberal application of manure. If 
the ground has been previously cultivated, as is ge- 
nerally the case in the immediate vicinity of a 
gentleman's villa or mansion, the depth of the 
trenching should vary according to circumstances. 
In soils consisting of good loam or clay, from 18 
inches to 2 feet will not be too much ; in poor, 
sandy, or gravelly soils, from 12 to 14 inches will be 
sufficient, or rather it would be dangerous to go to a 
greater depth. 

In good loam or clay, the subsoil itself contains 
the principles which contribute to the growth of ve- 
getables ; and to stir and expose it to the air, is to 
render these principles active, and is equivalent in 
fact to increasing the quality of nourishment con- 
tained in the land. But, in pure sand or gravel, there 
is absolutely nothing that can contribute to the 
growth of a plant ; to trench ground of this descrip- 
tion to a great depth, therefore, while it creates no 
new fund of nourishment, is to bury the vegetable 
mould to such a depth, that it will be long before the 
roots of the trees be able to reach it, and except an 



350 MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 

extraordinary quantity of manure is applied, they 
mil be in a starving condition for several years. In 
such a case, the only advantage which can be derived 
from going deeper than the vegetable mould at all, 
is to furnish earth, which may be sufficient to cover 
the roots, and in which they may be able to fix 
themselves. In land, however, which approaches 
nearer to loam or clay than absolute sand or gravel, 
there is always considerable advantage to be gained 
by going to a considerable depth. 

In trenching small patches, where the subsoil is 
so close as to be impermeable to water, or nearly so. 
Sir H. Steu art's rule must be observed, namely, 
not to pierce the subsoil at all, as otherwise each 
patch will become a pool or sink in which water 
will be retained, to the very great injury of the roots 
of the trees. In every instance where the trench- 
ing cannot go deep enough to furnish a sufficiency 
of mould for the roots of the trees, the only remedy 
is to bring earth from other places where it can be 
spared. In the laying out of new pleasure-grounds, 
and in building, with which planting, for the pur- 
pose now under consideration, will in general be co- 
temporary, this may easily be accomplished, as there 
will be abundance of spare earth, which it will be 
necessary to remove in making walks, and in dig- 

4 



OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 



351 



ging foundations for walls and houses. All that 
part of it especially, which consists of vegetable 
mould, should be carefully conveyed to the spot 
where it is intended to plant, and where there is at 
the same time a natural deficiency of soil. This 
source of improvement, when he is so happy as to 
possess it, should never be overlooked by the planter. 
By means of it, he may convert spots, originally in- 
capable of producing trees of any kind, to fertility 
in any variety he pleases. Earth brought from a 
distance should be employed, where circumstances 
permit, to increase the fertility of land which is not 
absolutely barren. This ought to be particularly 
attended to in the case of single trees, which can 
hardly be called ornamental, unless they can be 
reared to a respectable size ; and the only certain 
mode of attaining this, is to give them a more than 
ordinary depth and strength of soil. Single trees 
or small groups in a park or pleasure-ground, are 
most important agents in adorning and improving 
the landscape, and no pains should be spared in 
order to bring them on as quickly as possible. 

Even when the land is naturally rich, its produc- 
tiveness in wood may often be much increased by 
mixing it with soil of a different quality, brought 
from a distance. Strong clay ground may be much 



352 MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 

improved by mixing it with sandy loam, and soil of 
a light nature with clay. Both, according to Sir 
Henry Steuart, may be fertilized by receiving a 
mixture of peat-moss. Clay or earth of a lighter 
nature, may, in general, be easily procured, without 
robbing the land, from which either is taken, of any 
of its productive powers. Mark oW a space of suffi- 
cient size for the purpose, in any field, and lay aside 
the supersoil or vegetable mould. The substratum 
is then to be taken to as great a depth as may be 
necessary, or, as it remains of a good quality, and 
carried to the place or places where it is wanted. 
When a sufficient quantity of it for the purpose in- 
tended, has been procured and carted off, a foot 
deep more of it should be dug up and laid on the 
edge of the pit. The latter is then to be filled 
with such small stones as can be found on the sur- 
face of the field or in the neighbourhood, till only 
so much space be left as will contain the earth left 
for the purpose of conveying them. The soil taken 
from the bottom of the pit is then to be put on, and 
above it the vegetable mould, which was laid aside 
at first. This will restore all to its original state, 
and leave no breach in the ground. 

In laying earth of any kind upon the ground 
with which it is to be mixed, it should be divided 
I 



OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 353 



into very small heaps, and arranged so that it may 
cost as Httle trouble as possible, to mix it with the 
soil as the trenching proceeds. 

MANURING. 

Another requisite in planting with a view to 
speedy elFect, is to apply manure, and that in con- 
siderable quantity. It may be either well rotted 
farm-yard dung, free of long or fresh litter, or it 
may consist of ashes, street-dung, &c. If ashes or 
street-dung be used, at least one- third more in bulk 
should be given than when farm-yard manure is ap- 
plied. Sixty square yards of the latter per Scotch 
acre should be given, even when the ground is pre- 
viously in good heart, as, for instance, after a crop 
of turnips or potatoes. If the land be in a poorer 
condition, a due consideration should be made in 
the quantity of manure. As to the manner of ap- 
plying it, — spreading on the surface, and then dig- 
ging or ploughing it in, as is customary in agricul- 
ture, will not answer the purpose. It must be 
thoroughly mixed and incoi-porated with the whole 
soil, as deep as the trenching goes, in order that it 
may have its fuU effect. Merely spread on the sur- 
face, after the ground is trenched and dug in, it 

z 



354 



MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 



may prove hurtful instead of beneficial. In such 
circumstances it will act at once instead of gra- 
dually ; and if it do not induce canker, which 
sometimes happens when too great a stimulus is 
applied at once, its power will be exhausted in 
a year or two, during which time, though the 
trees may grow rapidly, they will afterwards, when 
the excitement subsides, be much in the condi- 
tion of such as having at first been reared in a 
very rich ground, are afterwards removed to poor 
and barren soil. The roots will have superabun- 
dant nourishment for the space of six or eight 
inches next the surface, but all below will be com- 
paratively poor and sterile. It is therefore of the 
last importance, that, whatever enrichment is given, 
should be mixed equally with the land from surface 
to subsoil. To effect this, the following method 
should be taken : — Let the dung be mixed, at least 
two months before it is used, with three times its 
own bulk of common earth or peat-moss ; or, if it 
is intended to deepen the soil by additional mould, 
the manure may be mixed with the whole of the 
latter, collected in one or more large heaps. The 
greatest care must be taken that this mixing be 
thoroughly performed, in order to insure which the 
heaps should be turned at least three or four times 



OY PLEx\SURE GllOUNDS. 355 

before the compost is applied. It should be laid on 
the ground in small heaps, before the trenching 
commences. When the first trench is opened, and 
the paring, about two or three inches thick, from 
the next is thrown into it, — let some of the dung or 
compost be spread both upon the paring in the first 
trench, and on the surface, from which the paring 
has been removed in the second. A spit depth of 
earth being removed from the new into the old 
trench, another quantity of the manure is to be ap- 
plied, both on the top and along the slope of the 
newly turned earth, and upon the surface of what 
remains in the trench that is not fully opened. If 
the depth before the shovelling be made another 
spit, the same operation is to be repeated ; and, 
last of all, after the shovelling is taken from the 
bottom, a portion is to be thrown on the surface, 
there to remain till it be dug in, when the trees are 
planted. Thus the work is to proceed, trench after 
trench, till the whole be finished. Along with the 
dung a very considerable quantity of lime should be 
given, one-third more at least than the best agricul- 
turists usually apply to land in the same state, and 
of the same quality as that which the planter may 
have to operate upon. The lime tends to commi- 
nute the soil, and keep it in a soft state, — matters 

z S 



356 MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 

of great importance for allowing the fibres to find 
their way, and it decomposes whatever organized 
substances of any kind are in the land, and renders 
them fit for nourishment to growing vegetables. 
Lime should, like dung, be mixed with several 
times its own bulk of earth, after being slaked, but 
should never be mixed in the same compost heap 
with the dung, as in such circumstances a certain 
chemical action takes place between them, equally 
destructive to the qualities peculiar to each. Whe- 
ther the lime should be given in a quick or mild 
state, will depend on the quality of the land, and 
the reader is referred for information on this point 
to the abstract which has been given of Sir Henry 
Steuarf s " Method of giving immediate effect to 
Wood." The lime should be put upon the ground 
in precisely the same manner as has just been di- 
rected with regard to the dung ; and the same ob- 
servation holds with respect to any foreign earth 
that may be applied for the purpose of deepening 
the soil. 

As to the trenching of the ground, it will in 
general be found most economical to slump it off, 
at so much per acre, to such labourers as are accus- 
tomed to this kind of work. It would be highly 
injudicious, however, to trust them with the put- 



OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 



357 



ting on of the manure, or even of such additional 
earth as may be added, from another place. On 
the due performance of this operation, the success 
of the plantation in a great measure depends. It 
will he necessary, therefore, that as many careful 
hands, who understand the work, and are paid by 
the day, should attend the trenchers, as may be able 
to put on the manure, &c. according to the above 
directions. 



PLANTING THE TREES, 

The planting of the trees may be performed at 
any time between November and March. In plant- 
ing waste land, exact regularity as to the distances 
between the plants is not a matter of very great 
importance. When trees are planted for ornament, 
however, it is desirable that there should be as great 
uniformity as possible in this respect, and that they 
may be stationed in such a manner at the first 
outset, that no difficulties may occur when they 
require thinning. Due consideration should be 
given to the nature of the soil and kinds of trees 
planted, that a pretty accurate idea may be formed 
of the room they will require, when they have ar- 
rived at their full growth ; and the trees intended 



358 



MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 



to remain after the nurses are cut down, should be 
placed at the intervals which may appear requisite, 
according to this calculation. As there will he 
others planted between them, it will be better that 
they should be planted rather too thin than the 
contrary,- — as this mistake may be easily corrected, 
by allowing some of the supernumeraries planted at 
first to remain wherever they may be required, to 
fill up vacancies, arising from the others not reach- 
ing the size that had been anticipated. 

If the ground, either naturally, or from being 
made up with additional earth, be from 15 to 20 
inches deep of vegetable mould, and of a description 
that will answer with the oak, elm, or ash, these 
trees may be allowed at least 30 feet from each 
other. Between 12 and 15 inches deep of vege- 
table mould, 24 feet may be allowed between the 
larger species of trees ; and when the depth is be- 
tween 8 and 12 inches, from 15 to 18 feet will be 
sufficient. From 8 to 12 feet may be considered as 
the requisite distance in soils of an inferior quality, 
and where the species planted grow to a less gigan- 
tic size. The quick growing species mentioned 
above should be planted among the others, at such 
intervals, that the average distances of the whole 
from one another may, in the best land, be 6 or 7 



OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 



359 



feet, and in that of a middling or inferior quality 
4 or 5. It will be impossible to make the intervals 
between these absolutely exact to an inch ; but 
that is of less consequence, if a due uniformity be 
preserved with regard to the principal trees. Straight 
lines, excepting for particular purposes, as along the 
sides of avenues, &c. or even rows of any kind, ought 
to be carefully avoided. They have a formal and 
most disagreeable appearance, and give easy admit- 
tance to the wind,— an evil of the first magnitude. 

In planting,! the pits should be made such a size 
as to contain the roots w^hen spread out at their full 
length. No pruning, either of roots or branches, 
should be practised, and fixing should be performed 
by treading with the foot, without, however, knead- 
ing the earth or rendering it hard. As the plant- 
ing proceeds, the ground should be dug a full spit 
deep, leaving the surface smooth and even. The 
digging will be attended with several advantages. 
It will^ leave the ground in that soft state which is 
so favourable to the putting forth of young fibres, — 
it will tend to mix the manure still more thoroughly 
with the soil, and will render the ground much 
more tractable to the hoe in summer than were the 
operation negiected,^ — besides that it will give the 



360 MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 

plantation during the winter a neat and cheerful 
appearance. 

It will be proper, or rather by some will be 
thought indispensable, in planting for ornament, to 
pay great attention to the intermixture of the trees, 
with the view of preventing dull sameness of charac- 
ter in the plantations. Too many of the same va- 
riety shoidd not, of course, be placed together ; but it 
would be mere fastidiousness of taste to go upon 
the principle, that no two trees of one kind should 
be placed in juxtaposition. The planter should 
always bear in mind, that it is of far more import- 
ance to humom' the soil than his own partiality for 
interspersing, — and that it will contribute in a far 
greater degree to beauty, to have thriving trees, 
with few varieties, growing on any particular spot, 
than many varieties, and scragged unsightly trees. 
To those who have not bestowed much attention 
on this subject, the following remarks may be the 
means of suggesting hints that will be useful. 

In order to render the intermixture of trees with 
one another as pleasing as possible, the first thing 
that demands attention is the different shades of 
their foliage. The more that these can be placed in 
contrast with one another, the finer will be the ef- 
fect. The black poplar, for instance, will have a 



OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 



361 



more striking appearance if placed by the side of an 
ash or a beech, whose leaves are several degrees 
lighter in shade, than in the neighbourhood of a 
horse-chesnut, whose foliage approaches its own in 
deepness of hue. The white-leaved willow, and the 
silver-poplar, will have a very fine eflPect, if planted 
near trees whose leaves are of a deep green. The 
shape and bearing of the tree, if the expression may 
be allowed, is likewise worthy of regard in planting, 
with a view to produce the greatest possible degree 
of beauty. The Lombardy poplar has a slender spi- 
ral form, and its motions in the wind are easy and 
graceful. The plane or sycamore, on the contrary, 
has a broad spreading top, and its movements are 
very constrained, a circumstance which makes it a 
fit companion for the first mentioned tree. The 
spray of the ash is flowing and elegant. The oak, 
on the contrary, looks as if it disdained to move a 
twig in the breeze. Two trees of these kinds, 
placed near one another, to say nothing of the shape 
and colour of the leaves, which are very dissimilar, 
will make a fine and powerful contrast by the diffe- 
rence of their motions alone. In clumps and nar- 
Tow belts, it will be proper to keep the stateliest 
growing trees in the interior, and the humbler sorts 
on the outside. That the plantations may have as 



S62 MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 

lively an appearance as possible, during the winter 
months, the silver-fir, the yew, the holly and the 
spruce, should be dropped in here and there. It 
will be in vain to plant the first and last mentioned 
sorts, however, on very dry ground. The broad- 
leaved bay, and the Portugal laurel, may likewise 
be introduced on the outskirts, where they will ap- 
pear to great advantage. 

With regard to the management afterwards, the 
most indispensable of all requisites is, that the plants 
receive no injury from the inroads of cattle. It is 
no easy matter, where young trees are planted in 
narrow belts, small groups, or even singly, and sur- 
rounded on all hands by grass used for pasturage, as 
it now generally is, in parks and pleasure grounds, 
to prevent trespasses of the kind in question. Pre- 
vented, however, they must be entirely, or the 
quick growth of the plantation is utterly hopeless. 
Of all quadrupeds, the most injurious to trees are 
sheep. They, too, are most difficult to exclude ; 
and it is by them that the grass in pleasure grounds 
is most commonly pastured. It is to be lamented, 
that no other method, equally profitable, of consum- 
ing the grass in pleasure grounds, is practicable ; 
for these animals, useful, and even ornamental, as 
they undoubtedly are, never fail to be a source of 



OF ri-ExiSUUE GROUNDS. 



363 



trouble and vexation to the planter. Where they 
are kept, nothing will save young trees from ruin, 
but fences too high to be overleaped by these woolly 
invaders. Several inconveniences arise from this. 
Fencing is expensive in ornamental grounds. It has 
a very clumsy and rude appearance ; and is conti- 
nually calling for repairs. All these, however, must 
be submitted to. Sheep, and cattle of every kind, 
must be entirely excluded from parks where there 
are young plantations ; for no herding will be suffi- 
cient to preserve a multitude of scattered groups 
and single trees from injury. Stone fences are in- 
admissible ; iron-railing — which, when painted an 
invisible green, is the least offensive to the sight of 
any barrier, and, to a certain extent, and in some 
situations, is even positively ornamental — is objec- 
tionable on account of its expensiveness. The only 
other alternative that can be had recourse to, is paling 
of wood. In order to defend the trees from sheep, it 
must not be less than five feet high ; and the bars, in 
order to prevent the lambs from insinuating them- 
selves, must not be more than nine inches asunder, 
if nailed to the posts in a horizontal direction; nor 
more than four or five, if placed in an upright posi- 
tion. In order to make a paling secure, strong posts 
should be driven into the ground a foot and a half 



364 



MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 



of their length, and not more than five or six feet 
asunder. They should be rendered still more secure 
by means of supporters, with their ends driven into 
the earth, and nailed to the uprights within half a 
foot of their tops, and sloping at an angle of about 
forty-five degrees. The posts, both upright and 
sloping, should, if possible, be of larch, as that sort 
of timber is by far the most durable for this pur- 
pose. The bars, which these posts are intended to 
support, may be either composed of harks, as they 
are termed, that is, the boards having the bark re- 
maining on one side, which are the outside parts of 
a log sawn off to bring it to the square ; or they 
may consist of long slender spars, such as the thin- 
nings of a fir plantation from sixteen to twenty 
years old. A paling composed on these principles, 
will, with occasional repairs, last twelve or fifteen 
years ; after which period the trees, though they will 
still be liable to injury from cattle, if left unprotect- 
ed, vdll not be in such danger of utter destruction 
as at an earlier stage of their progress. With ma- 
terials of the same kind as those now mentioned, 
many varieties of ornamental rustic work, in paling, 
may be executed, and which may be employed in 
such situations as are much exposed to view. Not 
only must sheep and cattle of every kind be ex- 



OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 



365 



eluded from the young plantations, but even human 
intruders of every description, with the exception of 
those v^ho are under the necessity of entering for 
the purposes of pruning or of cleaning. Half a 
dozen of schoolboys will do more mischief during a 
holiday, than an equal number of Highland wed- 
ders. Nurses with children are scarcely less dan- 
gerous while the trees have branches that can be 
pulled off within five feet of the ground. These 
observations may appear minute ; but I have known 
very promising plantations nearly ruined by trans- 
gressors of the two last denominations. Every twig 
that is torn off, every rough handling that the bark 
receives, and every unnecessary foot that hardens 
the ground, has a tendency to injure and impede 
vegetation. 

That the plantations should be kept perfectly 
free from weeds during the first five or six years, is 
absolutely necessary, if it is wished that the growth 
of the trees be accelerated to the utmost. Five or 
six hoeings will be requisite every summer. The 
destruction of weeds is only one of the benefits that 
will accrue from this labour. A still more important 
one will arise from the frequent stirring of the 
earth, than which nothing has a greater tendency to 
invigorate plants of any description. It has been 



360 



MEANS OF SPEEDY WOODING 



said, that a plantation in which the earth is fre- 
quently stirred, and the weeds destroyed, will make 
as much progress in seven years, as another placed 
in equally favourable circumstances, with the excep- 
tion that this work is neglected, will do in seven- 
teen. This may be going beyond the truth ; but 
nothing is more certain than that the operation now 
recommended will prove in the highest degree be- 
neficial. 

Dry weather should be cliosen for the hoeing, as 
it is then that the weeds can be killed most readily, 
and that the stirring of the earth is most beneficial 
to the trees. The common hoe should be used, and 
none but expert and careful workmen should be 
employed. The trees must not be touched ; for, if 
their bark be ruffled or peeled off, it were better that 
the weeds were left without molestation. 

Pruning must be performed in the same sparing 
and gradual manner as has already been directed. 
With regard, however, to such of the poplars, &c. as 
are merely intended to make a show till the slow 
growers are of a stature to render them no longer 
necessary, the knife may be used more freely when- 
ever their branches interfere with the latter. So 
long indeed as severe pruning of the supernumera- 
ries can be made to answer the purpose of admitting 

2 



OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 



367 



a sufficient quantity of air and light into the plan- 
tation, they ought not to be cut down ; but, so soon 
as this method becomes impracticable, the thinning 
process must be immediately commenced, and go on 
gradually from year to year, till the trees at last 
stand at the distances which they will finally re- 
quire. 

Thus a hasty sketch has been given of a method, 
that, if properly executed, will be the means of rais- 
ing trees for ornament much more expeditiously 
than is usually attained. Few persons, perhaps 
none, may have had the opportunity of seeing the 
efficacy of this mode of treatment put to the proof 
designedly, and on a tolerably large scale ; but 
many have observed how much more rapidly a plant 
grows up into a tree, if allowed to do so in the nur- 
sery, than in ground in that condition in which it is 
usually set apart for wood, with a view either to or- 
nament or profit. Many must have likewise ob- 
served, that some varieties grow much more quickly 
than others, and that a healthy plant, of any kind, 
makes far quicker progress than a sickly one of the 
same description. Now, the method which has just 
been sketched out, is simply this, — to make the land, 
by artificial means, as like that of the nursery as 



368 WOODING OF PLEASURE GROUNDS. 

possible ; to take advantage of as many of the quick 
growing species as can with propriety be introduced, 
and to make use only of plants that are in a sound 
and healthy state. These principles are of a per- 
fectly obvious kind ; and it is somewhat extraordi- 
nary that they should have been so seldom had re- 
course to, considering the great anxiety that is often 
felt for the quick progress of ornamental plantations. 
Perhaps the circumstance can only be accounted for, 
by referring it to that species of prejudice that arises 
from long-continued habit. From time immemo- 
rial, people have been accustomed to see trees put 
into the ground, and left to the care of nature ; and 
hence planters have, in general, from age to age, 
considered it as a self-evident maxim, that no artifi- 
cial means can be rendered effectual in stimulating 
their progress. 

a 



( 369 ) 



CHAPTER XXI. 

PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 

As it is necessary that the forester should know 
the properties of timber after it is cut down, and 
the departments in which the different kinds of 
it are principally in demand, as well as that he 
should understand the culture and management of 
growing trees — the following sketch, derived from 
the most authentic sources to which the writer has 
access, as well as from his own observation, is added 
for the sake of such readers as may be desirous of 
obtaining information on these points. 

It may be proper to premise, that wood newly 
cut, when used in dry situations, or for purposes 
where it is not exposed to moisture, is apt to shrink 
from its original apparent size, and sometimes to 
warp or twist. This is owing to the evaporation of 
the natural sap ; and the bad consequences that 
would arise from it are generally prevented by 
what is called Seasoning, — that is^ allowing the 

A a 



370 PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 

moisture to evaporate before applying the wood to 
use. If unseasoned wood be cut into deals, and 
formed into any piece of workmanship, for instance 
a door, the shrinking produces open chinks in the 
joints, and not unfrequently splits the deal. This 
is particularly the case with fir- wood of every kind, 
but especially the larch. 

Another circumstance is worthy of remark, in re- 
gard to the application of wood in general to useful 
purposes. The outer parts of the tree, nearest the 
bark, commonly termed the Sap-wood, is weaker, 
and much more liable to rot, than the interior part, 
or heart-wood of the tree. Sap-wood is of less im- 
portance in old trees than in young ones, and in 
hard wood than in firs ; but, in general, where wood 
is used for purposes requiring great durability, it 
should be planed off, as the greater part of it usually 
is in squaring the logs. In general it may be easily 
known, both by a difference in colour (being 
whiter), and a difference in texture, from the heart- 
wood. In examining old floors, it will frequently 
be seen, that the edges of the deals are destroyed by 
the dry-rot, while the centre is quite sound ; a prac- 
tical exemplification of the fact here mentioned, the 
edge being easily seen, in such cases, to be part of 
the sap-wood. 



PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 371 

It is sometimes imagined that wood kept below 
water must be very subject to decay, and must soon 
be destroyed by rottenness ; an opinion which ap- 
pears to have arisen from the well known fact, of 
moisture being productive of decay in vegetable 
substances exposed to the weather. It is only 
when wood is exposed to the action of the atmo- 
sphere, however, that water or dampness produces 
rottenness. If kept always completely below water, 
timber of almost any kind will last longer than 
when kept entirely free from moisture. Kotten- 
ness, or natural decay, is most speedily produced in 
all vegetable substances, by alternations of mois- 
ture and drought, or being kept between wind and 
water. Some species of wood resist the evil conse- 
quences of such changes better than others ; but, in 
general, an exposure to them is the most trying si- 
tuation in which timber , can be placed^. Paint, 
pitch, turpentine, and resinous substances in gene- 
ral, are well known preventives of rottenness, and 
are commonly employed, frequently with much suc- 
cess, for that purpose, when wood is used in circum- 
stances peculiarly exposed. 

* I do not here speak of dry-rot^ which is not attributable to 
natural decay, but to particular diseases, or rather to the at^ 
tacks of fungous vegetables, and of insects. 

A a 2 



372 PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 

I now proceed to notice the various properties of 
different kinds of wood, and the uses to which the 
respective kinds are applicahle. 

OAK. 

Oak is among the different kinds of timber what 
iron is among the metals, — the most durable, the 
most general in its application, and the most uni- 
versally diffused over the surface of the globe, if 
the various species be taken into account. Some 
timber is harder, some is rent with greater diffi- 
culty, and some will bear a greater strain without 
breaking crosswise ; but none possesses all these qua- 
lities in an equal degree with the oak. In former 
ages this tree was used throughout Great Britain in 
every department of carpentry, and our ancestors 
had not only ships of oak, but oaken roofs, oaken 
floors, oaken doors, and oaken furniture of every de- 
scription. It is still employed for several purposes 
in machinery, and beams of it are occasionally in- 
troduced into roofs and other erections, where great 
strength is required ; but the principal use to which 
it is now applied, especially when of home growth, 
is ship-building, — a department in which its place 
can be but indifferently supplied by any other kind 



PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 373 



of wood. Our dockyards would furnish a ready 
market for native oak, though our woods were 
stocked with it a hundredfold more plentifully than 
they are. The planter need therefore be under no 
apprehension that the supply of this tree will ever 
exceed the demand, so long as we are a naval power 
and a commercial country. British oak is said to last 
three times as long as the species brought from Ame- 
rica, and twice as long as that imported from most 
parts of the continent of Europe ; so that our own 
produce will always be preferred to any other, when 
offered for sale in our own markets ; and, should we 
ever have it in such quantities as to be able to ex- 
port it, its superior quality will obtain for it a ready 
market abroad. 

The bark of the oak is the most valuable of any 
for tanning, and is largely imported into Britain for 
that purpose. Coppice-oak, in Scotland, is chiefly 
raised for the sake of the bark, which is more va^ 
luable in young trees than in old ones. 



FIR. 



The timber of the different species of Fir is more 
extensively used than any other. That of the Scots 



374 PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 

Fir is most generally known in tbis country, and, in 
many respects, does not yield in usefulness to that 
of any of the tribe. With the single exception of 
the larch, which exceeds it in hardness and tough- 
ness, the Scots fir, as timber, is decidedly superior 
to any other of the pine-tribe cultivated in Britain. 
All Scots fir timber contains a portion of rosin, and 
that which contains the most is in least danger 
from insects, and therefore the most durable. The 
older that the tree is before being cut down, provided 
it has not been allowed to decay while standing, the 
better is the timber, and the less sap-wood it con- 
tains. The best part of the tree is that next the 
root. The Scots fir is employed for every purpose 
in architecture, and answers equally well, whether 
used as roofing, flooring, doors, or window-sashes. 
It is also not unfrequently made into chairs, tables, 
and other articles of coarse household furniture. It 
is deemed the most proper of all timber for forming 
the breasts of violins, and it is used for sounding- 
boards in the construction of organs and other mu- 
sical instruments. In ship-building it is used for 
masts, and in the partitioning and other inside 
work of the ship. 

The Larch has not yet been so generally used by • 
carpenters in this country as the Scots fir. Its 



PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 375 



timber, however, is of a very superior order ; and, 
when its qualities become more generally known, it 
will probably supplant the Scots fir, in many of the 
purposes for which the latter is at present exclu- 
sively employed. It may perhaps be inferior to the 
wood of the last-mentioned tree, in being heavier 
in proportion to its bulk, more liable to warp, and 
less pliable to work ; but it more than counter- 
balances these defects by the superior closeness of 
its grain, its greater beauty when dressed, its 
power of supporting pressure without breaking ; 
and, above all, its impenetrability to insects, and 
uncommon power of resisting the effects both of 
fire and water. Were it used in building, destruc- 
tive conflagrations would be far less frequent than 
they usually are, — as a beam of larch will scarcely 
be charred, when one of Scots fir, of spruce, or even 
of oak, will be nearly consumed ^. In Italy, where 

* I once saw a remarkable instance of the incombustible na- 
ture of larchj in the case of an accidental fire in Aberdeen. A 
house which had been built with home wood, principally Scots 
fir, was burnt to the ground, but a few joists were observed to 
remain standing amid the ruins. On examination it was found 
that these joists were of larch, and that they had so completely 
resisted the action of the surrounding fire, by which the other 
species of wood had been entirely consumed, that they remained 



376 PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 



larch has been used for ages in the construction of 
houses, there are many very ancient buildings, in 
which the larch beams and flooring do not exhibit 
the trace of a worm, or decay of any kind. At 
Venice, where piles of this wood have been much 
used, the most unequivocal proofs are said to exist 
of its indestructibility in water. It has the ad- 
vantage, too, that it may be cut down for use at a 
much earlier period than the Scots fir. When used 
at forty years old, in the construction of boats, it has 
been known to last as long again as the best Nor- 
way pine employed for the same purpose. Larch 
wood may not only be formed into the plain furni- 
ture which is used in kitchens, cottages, &;c. ; but, 
with the aid of a little varnish, will do very well 
for bookcases, writing-desks, shop-counters, and 
many other purposes where appearance is of consi- 
derable importance. Its property of resisting mois- 
ture makes it answer well in all out-door work, es- 
pecially for stakes and posts, which require to be 
driven partly into the ground. Its durability, in 
this capacity, has often been put to the test, and 

so slightly injured, as to be fit to be used for the same pur- 
poses they had formerly served, when the house was rebuilt 
shortly after; and they were accordingly used in that man- 
ner- 



PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 377 



found of a very superior kind. The thinnings of 
larch, sixteen years old and upwards, may be used 
with excellent effect as paling, without being at the 
trouble of taking oif the bark. 

Larch has been used with much success in making 
carts, harrows, wheelbarrows, and other implements of 
agriculture, for which it is eminently qualified by its 
lightness, strength, and durability ; and it would be 
more used for these purposes were there not a pre- 
judice against it among country carpenters, owing 
principally, as they say, to its being difficult to work. 
It certainly requires the tools to have a finer edge, 
but that is but a slight price to pay for its superior 
qualities. A cart can be constructed of larch at 
about two- thirds of the expense which it would cost 
if built of ash, and it will be as strong and durable, 
and little more than half the weight of the latter. 
These are important savings, and agriculturists will 
find it their interest to turn their attention to the 
subject. 

Nor is it for country purposes alone that the con- 
sumption of larch may be advantageously increased. 
It is of the very first importance as a substitute for oak 
in ship-building, as it possesses all the qualities most 
prized in the dockyard— toughness, strength, elasti- 
city, lightness, and closeness. At the same time, 



378 PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 

vessels may be built of larch at little more than one- 
fourth of the cost of building them in oak, and even 
at much less expense than if built of Memel or Nor- 
wegian fir ; and 1 have no hesitation in asserting, 
that, if not so lasting as the former, it will endure 
much more fatigue than either of the latter. Larch 
wood seems to have the peculiar quality of acquiring 
hardness by being exposed to wind and water, which, 
as already said, is the most trying situation in which 
wood can be placed, and which is so fatal to other 
timber of the fir species, and even affects, by degrees, 
the British oak. I have seen some larch-planks ta- 
ken from the bottom of an old lighter, which had 
been built twenty-five years before, chiefly of the 
best Memel fir. With the exception of the larch- 
planks, the whole fabric was rotten almost to pow- 
der. During the twenty-five years the vessel lasted, 
these planks had been exposed alternately to wet 
and drought, both in salt and fresh water, and they 
did not shew even the most distant symptoms of de- 
cay. On the contrary, they were so hard as to re- 
sist the edge of the best-tempered carpenter's axe, 
and even the saw made but a slight impression up- 
on them when applied crosswise. When tried to 
be split with wedges, they shewed no aptness to 
splinter, a quality of great importance in ship-build- 



PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 



379 



ing, and one which the larch possesses in an eminent 
degree. As an example of this, I may mention, 
that if a target be made of larch-timber, properly- 
seasoned, and of the thickness of ship-plank, and 
fired at with shot of any description, it will be found 
that the balls form a clean hole, as if pierced with 
the auger of the carpenter, and without a vestige of 
splinter, the wood being carried off exactly to the 
size of the ball. I can make but slight pretensions 
to judge of what may be advantageous and condu- 
cive to the strength of the Koyal Navy, but I am in- 
clined to think that this last quality, joined to the 
other known properties of larch- timber, would point 
it out as at least worthy of trial ^. 

Whatever may be its capabilities, and the chance 
of its introduction into the Royal Navy, larch is 
well ascertained to be of great value in building 
merchant vessels. I have seen several built en- 

* I recollect of having read a letter from a naval officer to 
the Admiralty Board, describing a naval engagement (and my 
impression is that it was the letter of Lord Nelson, commu- 
nicating the victory of the Nile), in which it is stated, that 
more of the men were killed by splinters from the different 
places of the ship, hit by the enemy's shot, than fell by their 
balls. If larch, possessing the quality I have mentioned, be 
found to answer for building ships of war, this circumstance 
alone will shew the importance of introducing it. 



380 PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 

tirely from it (with the exception of the keel 
pieces, of course), and two were very recently built 
from it in the woods under my charge. They 
are generally built in the woods where the timber 
is found, a practice which ought to be followed in 
every instance where it is at all possible, as, besides 
the saving of carriage, the carpenter can select his 
wood on the spot, measure its length while the tree 
is standing, and is by this means never incumbered 
with useless w^ood. At the same time, the forest 
is almost always the better for them, as they use 
great numbers of crooked and unsightly trees for 
futtocks, floors, &c. that would otherwise bring no 
more than the price of fire-wood, being entirely use- 
less, except for the purposes to which the ship- 
builders apply them. Thus the wood is cleared of 
its rubbish, and at the same time a profit realized 
to the proprietors. 

The two vessels which I have alluded to as being 
built of larch in the woods under my charge were, 
when completed, taken to pieces and driven to the 
sea-port of Montrose, a distance of twelve miles. I 
was told that they were built at one-third less ex- 
pense than if they had been constructed of Mem el 
or Norway fir, although the usual price was paid 
for the larch used in their construction. 



PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 381 

Among the qualities which render larch so suit- 
able for ship-building, I should not omit its pliabi- 
lity, or easy adaptation to any desired set, espe- 
cially when cut into planks. Oak, and indeed al- 
most every other kind of timber used in ship-build- 
ing, requires to be bent by the process of steaming, 
an operation generally unnecessary with larch. This 
of itself is a great advantage. In building vessels 
of larch, great care should be taken to exclude the 
sap-wood, a thing which will be neither difficult nor 
expensive, as larch trees which have attained a size 
fit for ship-building, particularly if on favourable 
soil, and of the age of thirty-five or forty years, will 
have very little sap-wood to be removed, after the 
logs are squared, as that process should take off 
the whole, or nearly the whole of it. The sap- 
wood of the larch is peculiarly liable to the attacks 
of the dry-rot, and the injury thence arising has 
gone far to create an unjust prejudice against this 
sort of timber altogether. 

Larch is very apt to shrink and warp, if wrought 
before being properly seasoned, although the season- 
ing is of less importance in ship-building, where the 
wood is used in thick logs or planks, than when 
used for other purposes in thinner deals. Still it is 
proper to be observed, wherever it can be convenient- 



382 PROPEUTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 



ly done. The best method of seasoning is to kill 
the vegetation of the tree the season before it is cut 
down. This may be done either by peeling off the 
whole bark, as recommended by Monteath *, or 
by merely peeling it off all romid the tree, to the 
extent of six inches perpendicular, close to the root. 
If treated in this manner early in spring, the tree 
may be cut next winter. 

Besides the value and importance of larch-timber 
in the other parts of ship-building, the roots form 
excellent knees, and great numbers of them are now 
used for this purpose f . To understand this, it is 
necessary to explain, that the roots of the tree branch 
off horizontally under ground in three, four, or five 
leading stems, nearly at right angles with the up- 
right trunk of the tree. These roots always attain 
a large size in trees of some age, and they are of 
great strength and toughness. To know whether 
the roots are of size sufficient for knees, the sur- 
face-earth must be removed to the extent of about 
two feet around the tree, with a mattock. 

* Forester's Guide, p. 248. 

t A knee is a piece of wood used for joining the beams to 
the ship's side, and is in shape two sides of a triangle. The 
one side is screwed to the ship's side, the other to the beam, 
which is placed between two knees, both of which, with the 
beam, are transfixed by screw-bolts. 



PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 383 

Fig. 1. represents the root of a larch standing 
in the ground after the earth has heen dug away. 




If there he four roots spreading horizontally, of a dia- 
meter of six inches or more at the distance of two 
feet from the trunk of the tree, it will suit for knees. 
The earth is then a little farther removed with 
a spade, so as to lay the roots bare, and the roots 
are cut at the distance of two feet or more from the 
trunk. The tree is then easily pulled over by the 
help of a rope, which should be fixed near its top, 
before the earth is dug away. 

Fig. 2, (on the next page), represents the root 
after the tree has been thrown over. The root is 
then cleared of the earth, and the trunk of the tree 
is cut two feet or more from the angle formed by the 
root, as may be required. If there be four leading 
roots, the trunk of the tree is split perpendicularly 
into four parts, taking care to have a root attached 
to each part, and carefully observing also to split 



384 PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 




the trunk, so as to give each portion all the strength 
possible. 

Fig. 3. shews the root, with marks for split- 




ting out the knees. This operation may be done 
with wedges, or a saw, the latter instrument being 



PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. S85 



the safer, but the more tedious, method. Fig. 4. 
represents two splits fit for knees; and-^Fig. 5. a 




1 - 1 

dressed ship-knee. If there be only two or three 
horizontal roots of sufficient size, the trunk must 
be split accordingly ; but, in such a case, the pro- 
fit is of course less, nearly the same labour being 
required as if there were four. When the root 
branches into five or more stems, they seldom at- 
tain a size to fit them for this purpose, and it is also 
more difficult to split them out. The remaining 
part of the tree is generally little worse for common 
purposes, being merely somewhat shorter than if 
cut in the ordinary way. 

When this operation is carried on on a large 
scale, the workman digs away the earth and cuts 
the roots, leaving the tree to fall by the next wind, 

Bb 



386 PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER, 

which it generally does^ this being accounted a 
saving of labour. The knees thus produced are 
sometimes used in new vessels built of oak, but 
more frequently in repairing old ones. Great num- 
bers of them are required for these purposes ; and I 
have myself sold many hundreds from the woods 
under my charge, at from 3s. to 7s. each knee, ac- 
cording to their size. This is an important addi- 
tion to the value of larch woods, the root, with two 
feet of the trunk, frequently bringing more money 
than the whole tree would have done, if cut in the 
ordinary way, for planks or other purposes. The 
expense of making larch roots into ship-knees is 
comparatively trifling. Four workmen, accustomed 
to the work, will, with the chance of wind, throw 
over from twelve to fifteen trees, and split out the 
knees from them, each day, on an average. 

The next of the fir species in importance is the 
Spruce. As timber, however, it is much inferior 
both to the Scotch fir and the larch, though it is 
much more common than the latter. Its timber is 
whiter and softer than that of the Scots fir, and, 
what is still worse, far less durable. It has, how- 
ever, this advantage, that it is very easily wrought, 
and tries the carpenter's tools less than any other 



PROPEKTIES AND USES OF TIMBEK. 387 

kind of wood used in building. This, together with 
its cheapness, causes it to be pretty frequently used 
in inside work, as doors, flooring, stairs, &c. One 
purpose, however, there is, for which it is unrivalled, 
viz. rustic work in gardens and pleasure-grounds, 
such as seats, pillars for arbours and ornamental 
cottages, &c. In these capacities it is commonly 
used with its bark on and its knobs entire, and makes 
a very romantic appearance. 

The timber of the Silver-fir is said, like the 
spruce, to be inferior to that of the Scots fir. It 
has, however, two properties, which, for some pur- 
poses, are of no small value, viz. great lightness, and 
little or no tendency to shrink or warp. 

ASH. 

Next to the oak, the most important of all hard- 
wooded trees, on account of its timber, is the Ash. 
It possesses great elasticity, and will bear a consi- 
derable strain crosswise. Its chief defect is, that it 
is very easily split in the longitudinal direction. 
Unlike most other trees, the quicker it grows, and 
the sooner it is cut down, after it attains a useful 

B b 2 



388 PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 

size, the better is its timber. Its quality is much 
deteriorated when it grows in poor and exposed si- 
tuations ; in which case it loses much of its elasti- 
city, and becomes short and brittle. The ash has 
very appositely received the name of the Husband- 
man's Tree, and its timber is the best qualified of 
any for ploughs, harrows, cart-axles, and agricultu- 
ral implements of every description. In coach-ma- 
king, it is used for shafts to carriages ; and its elas- 
ticity adapts it particularly for all long handles, 
poles, oars, ladders, &c. In the state of suckers 
and young shoots it makes excellent hoops for small 
casks. Good ash is always in demand. 



ELM. 



The Elm is remarkably strong and tough in its 
texture, and is well adapted for most purposes in 
which these properties are pre-eminently required. 
It is often used as a substitute for ash in making 
agricultural implements, in which capacity it is 
found to answer very well. It makes very strong 
furniture, such as tables, chairs, presses, bedsteads, 
&c. ; and may sometimes be found of so fine a grain, 
that, with the aid of varnishes, it looks wonderfully 



PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 389 

well. It is deemed improper for building, but is 
much used in machinery and coach-making ; and, as 
it lasts well under water, and resists friction, it is 
in request for keels of ships. It makes the best 
naves for wheels of any wood grown in Scotland, 
and is generally in great demand for that purpose. 
The cohesion of the grain is sufficiently strong to 
permit, without splitting, the spokes of the wheel 
being hard driven into it, — a very trying operation, 
when it is considered that the naves are in general 
only a foot in diameter, and must be also bored in 
the centre. Neither is it apt to split from exposure 
to the sun, as ash is. Elm, grown in Scotland, is 
said to be of a much better quality than when 
grown in the more fertile parts of England. But 
this must not be understood of the different species 
cultivated in the two countries, as what is generally 
called the English or small-leaved elm {U, cainpes- 
tris), is accounted better wood than the Scotch or 
large-leaved elm {U. montcma.) 

BEECH. 

Beech is close-grained and altogether of a re- 
markably close texture. When exposed to alternate 
dryness and moisture, it soon decays ; but, when 



S90 PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 



kept entirely under water, or when used for purposes 
in which it is continually dry, it lasts well. It does 
not bear a great strain crosswise. Like elm, it is 
much used for ship-keels, as well as in turning; and 
is in great request in machinery. It is well adapted 
for piles under water, and all similar purposes. 



SPANISH CHESNUT. 



The Spanish Chesnut should have been placed 
next the oak, which it strongly resembles in its pro- 
perties, and, in fact, would of all trees come nearest 
it in importance, were it not that it is very sparing- 
ly cultivated in this country. Of its durability the 
most undoubted proofs can be given, as many of the 
oldest mansions in England have been built of it. 
The roof of Westminster Abbey, which is now up- 
wards of 700 years old, is composed of Spanish ches- 
nut, and betrays no vestige of decay. Possessing 
all the strength, durability, and toughness of the 
oak, the chesnut has this advantage over it, that it 
is of a finer colour. 



rROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 391 



PLANE, OR SYCAMORE. 

The wood of the Plane is, like the beech, close- 
grained, but much more beautiful. The backs of 
violins are generally made of plane-tree ; and, when 
of good workmanship, they furnish as good an ex- 
ample as can be given of what plane-tree can be 
made by the aid of varnish. This wood contains 
few or no knots, or any thing to injure the edge of 
tools. It is, therefore, very easily wrought, and well 
adapted for cutting-boards, in which capacity it is 
accordingly very frequently employed. It warps or 
shrinks very little, and is, on that account, extreme- 
ly eligible for saddle-trees, founders' patterns, &c. 
Not being subject to crack, it is much superior to 
the beech for turning into wooden dishes. Cabinet- 
makers find it well adapted for various uses in the 
formation of household-furniture. Millwrights also 
make use of it for various purposes in constructing 
machinery. 

lime-tree. 

The Lime, though not a strong timber, is yet re- 
markably close in the grain. Its colour is a pure 



392 PllOPEUTIES AND USES OF TIMBEE. 



white, without any variation of shade. It is less 
subject to decay than either beech or plane, and less 
liable to be injured by worms. It cuts clean and 
easily with the graving-tool, and carvers according- 
ly employ it more than any other wood. 



BIRCH. 



Birch, if it be not so durable as some other kinds, 
has the advantage of being remarkably cheap, as it 
will grow on soil where scarce any other tree will 
prosper. Its colour is white, and it is much prized 
by turners for its lightness, closeness of grain, and 
being easily worked. It is the material out of which 
shoemakers form the wooden pins which they drive 
into the soles of shoes. For rough gates and paling 
no material is better ; and, in the Highlands, it is 
used for every purpose in which wood is required — 
as rafters and doors for houses, agricultural imple- 
ments, household-furniture, and dishes. It is found 
to answer extremely well for herring-barrels, and 
much of it is now used for this purpose. 



PllOPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 393 



ALDER — POPLAR — WILLOW. 

The wood of the Alder is of a reddish-colour ; it 
is extremely soft and pliable to work. In some 
parts of Scotland all sorts of wooden dishes are turned 
from it. Much of it is used for herring-casks. It 
bears moisture well, and may therefore be advan- 
tageously used as piles for foundations, wooden pipes, 
&c. 

The wood of the Black Poplar is reckoned rather 
more durable than that of the other varieties, none 
of which resist either the rot or insects for any con- 
siderable period. They are, however, extremely 
light, and tolerably free from any tendency to shrink 
or warp. It is exceedingly well qualified for pack- 
ing-boxes, and all purposes in which lightness and 
cheapness are of more consequence than durability. 

The timber of the Willow, though soft, like that 
of the poplar, is at the same time very tough, in pro- 
portion to its gravity. It lasts long under water, 
and is well qualified for pipes. Charcoal made of it 
is said to be superior to every other kind for the ma- 
nufacture of gunpowder. 

1 



394 PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 



HORSE-CHESNUT — MOUNT AIN-ASH — HAWTHORN 
— HAZEL. 

The Horse-chesnut is so soft and spongy that it 
is scarce good for any thing. Notwithstanding its 
beauty, as a tree, its timber is perhaps the most 
worthless of any that grows on the island. 

The wood of the Mountain-ash is only used for 
rough purposes. The shoots or suckers that start 
up from its roots are often used as hoops. 

The Hawthorn, when it attains the size of a tree, 
produces a very hard, tough, and durable timber. 
It may be used for a variety of purposes in machi- 
nery and in turning. It is manufactured into clubs 
for golf-playing. 

The Hazel is in great demand for hoops, makes 
excellent walking-sticks, and the charcoal manufac- 
tured from it is highly prized. 

LABURNUM — HOLLY, 

The Laburnum furnishes timber of various appli- 
cation, and considerable value. It is extremely hard 
■ — the colour of its wood naturally good — and, by 
soaking it in lime-water, it may be made like the 



PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 395 

darkest mahogany, or even as black as ebony. It 
makes strong and beautiful chairs, and, when it can 
be procured of the requisite size, equally good tables. 
Laburnum is employed to some extent in machinery, 
especially in block-making, and is often wrought in- 
to ornamental work by turners. It makes good 
pegs, and answers well for handles to various instru- 
ments. 

The Holly, a plant which is too much neglect- 
ed, furnishes the hardest and most compact timber 
we have. It requires to be well dried before it 
is used, otherwise it is liable to warp. Its natu- 
ral colour is white, but it may be stained to any re- 
quired hue, as it takes and retains any dye readily 
and well. It may thus be made to imitate ebony, 
or any of the harder ornamental woods, which are 
commonly imported from abroad. Cabinet-makers 
use it much in ornamental work ; and it is often in 
request by turners and engravers. 



The following brief summary will place the sub- 
stance of what has been said more completely under 
the view of the reader, the various species of tim- 
ber being placed in connection with the respective 
departments in which each is most commonly used. 



396 



PROPERTIES AND USES OF TIMBER. 



HousE-CARPENTRY.—Scots Fir, Larch, Spruce, 
Silver-Fir. 

Ship-building. — Oak, Elm, Beech, and diffe- 
rent kinds of Fir. 

Coach-making and Agricultural Imple- 
ments.— Ash, Elm, Oak, Beech. 

Machinery. — Oak, Elm, Ash, Beech, Plane- 
tree, Lahurnum, Hawthorn, Holly. 

Cabinetmaking. — Elm, Beech, Plane-tree, 
Chestnut, Holly, Lime-tree. 

Turning. — Beech, Plane-tree, Hawthorn, Holly, 
Birch, Alder, &c. 

Carving. — Plane-tree, Lime-tree, Holly. 

Cooper-work. — Oak, Plane-tree, Willow, Ha- 
zel, Birch, Alder. 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX. 



No. I. 

ADDITIONAL REMARKS ON DRAINING. 

Since the observations at page 123, &c. on the drain- 
ing of land, or what is commonly called water-tabling, 
preparatory to planting, were written, it has been thought 
necessary to add something farther on that subject, as it 
is of very great importance that the ground on which 
trees are planted be properly dried, and kept free of sur- 
face-water. The following diagrams have been prepared 
to shew the method of performing the operation to the 
best advantage, and at the least expense. 

When waste ground is to be planted up, it ought to 
be ascertained whether the wetness of the lands arise 
from a want of declivity, and a retentive subsoil, causing 
it to stagnate on the surface, or from springs in the lands, 
as different modes of draining must be adopted in each of 
these cases. 



400 



APPENDIX. 



Fig. I. Represents a piece of ground wet by surface 
water, owing to tlie retentive subsoil and want of de- 
cli\dty, to remedy which the following operations will be 
necessary. 



Fig. I. 




Cut a drain, as AB, along the lowest level of the field, 
of such dimensions as to contain the quantity of water, 
which may be easily judged of by the extent and natui'e 
of the grounds. This is called the leading or main drain ; 
and where the ground is unequal, forming hollows, it will 
be necessary to have side drains leading into the main 
drain : these will require to be half the size of the main 
drain or leader, and are represented by C and D. When 
the ground rises into brows or eminences, such as at EFG, 
the tabling or small conductors must be carried in the 
direction of the declivity, either into the leader or side 
drains. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 represent dry porous gi'ound, 



ON DUAINING. 



401 



where the water easily escapes. Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 
11, wet ground with a retentive subsoil, preventing the 
water from escaping, whereby it accumulates on the sur- 
face. 

The operation of surface draining is generally perform- 
ed with the spade, the usual dimensions of the drains being 
about 18 inches wide at the top, 9 inches at the bottom, 
and about 14 inches deep ; when these d_i*ains are numer- 
ous, the work is tedious and expensive. In many cases this 
operation might be done by the plough, at much less ex« 
pense than by the spade, and at a season of the year when 
no other field operations are going on. A very strong 
plough must be used, drawn by four horses, to draw a 
furrow down hill: where the declivity is not too great, 
the plough should return close by the back of the furrow 
thrown up, thus cutting the solid ground out ; or it might 
return in the same track, throwing a furrow over the other 
side: but when the declivity is very great, it will be prefer- 
able to draw all the furrows down hill, the plough being 
brought up empty ; the expense is nearly the same by 
either method, and the particular circumstances of the 
case will best determine which of them should be used. 
Wliere the declivity is considerable, this method will an- 
swer tolerably well ; but if the gi'ound be level small 
drains soon fill up. 

When a large extent of ground is to be planted up, and 
when the decli\'ity is small, it will be necessary to cut 
all the drains with the spade : these should, on wet 



402 



APPENDIX. 



soils, be 3 feet wide at top, feet at bottom, and 2 J feet 
deep, and from 18 to 24? feet apart : these from their size, 
though there be but little water running in them, Avill 
remain a long time open. 

Fig. II. Represents the method of draining lands, 
where the wetness arises from springs. The dotted lines 
shew the line of springs. 



Fig. II. 

Dry porous high bank. 




Dry porous high bank. 



Cut a main drain along the lowest line of level, as AB, 
of sufficient dimensions, and from the springs Nos. 1, 2, 
3, 4, rising at the bottom of the bank, and seen on the 
plan, cut conductors leading into the main drain, of suffi- 
cient depth to contain the water issuing from the springs ; 
but should the gi'ound be very unequal, and the springs 
numerous, it may perhaps be necessary to make a main 



ON BUAINING. 



403 



conductor along the opposite banks, as CD, and com- 
municating with the main leader by the cross cut E, which 
must be of sufficient size to carry off the water from CD 
into AB. The main conductor CD is kept as little below 
the springs 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, as possible, in order to give the 
depth to which it is cut proper effect. If tlie bottom of 
the ditch be porous, the springs will be immediately laid 
dry ; if otherwise, a short cut communicating with the 
spring will effectually secure it. 

Fig. III. Represents a springy bog, intended to be 
drained by Elkington's mode of draining. 

Fig. III. 

Dry porous soil. 




The high dry porous soil receives the water which sub- 
sides into an open subsoil, and bursts out in the lower 
gi'ound, in the springs A A, BB, and CCC, through a 

C c 2 



404 



APPENDIX. 



surface of clay or other impervious matter ; the lower 
springs at C always running, those at B generally, and 
those at A when the ground is very wet. D is the main 
drain or outlet falling into a rivulet R, as seen in the 
plan. 

After having examined all excavations near the place 
to be drained, such as quarries, ditches, beds and sides of 
rivers, and sunk wells, and thereby ascertained the na- 
ture of the different strata below the soil, the surface of 
the ground in question, and the nature of the plants, will 
shew where springs arise ; and from other observations, 
or from measurement, it may be ascertained what is the 
angle of descent which the open porous soil makes with 
the clay soil. 

From these observations, when circumstances permit, 
a great saving may be made, by making a ditch of suffi- 
cient size in the line CCC, and boring with an auger, 
as pointed out on that line, into the tail of the gravelly 
subsoil. The water finding easier vent through the 
auger holes at the lower elevation, will flow through 
them alone, leaving the springs at AA, BB and CCC 
completely dry. 

It is the pressure of the water above the level of the 
main drain that causes the water to spring. Any person 
who may have paid attention to digging wells, must have 
observed, that after cutting through an impervious soil, 
and entering into gravel, sand, or chinky rock, the water, 
if any, naturally rises to some certain height, correspond^ 



ON DRAINING. 



405 



ing to some other outlet, although perhaps not visible. 
The mode of di'aining now recommended is founded on 
this principle, that an outlet in an inferior elevation takes 
off the pressure which causes the springs in the higher 
elevation. In boring, it will sometimes be necessary to 
pierce quite through the first open stratum, and again 
through another bed of clay, until the porous bottom 
containing the water is reached. 

It is sometimes necessary to carry a di'ain across a mill- 
lead or some other aqueduct, the level of which is higher 
than the ground to be drained. This is done by means 
of a square box, of the size required to hold the water 
which the drain emits, placed in a groove carried across 
or below the lead, towards the river or stream flowing in 
a lower level. On the bank of the river it will be ne- 
cessary to make a back ditch, and form an embankment 
between it and the river, to keep off all flood- water. 
Another back ditch may be made if necessary along the 
side of the lead. 

When land is water-locked, owing to an impervious 
soil or subsoil, and on examination it is found impossible, 
or too expensive, to procure a fall, the water will some- 
times be got rid of by boring through the impervious 
soils into the open strata below. The water can be pre« 
viously collected in drains, made in the manner repre- 
sented in Figure I. 

The earth taken from the main drains, conductors and 
tabling, may be used in filling up any small hollows or 



406 



APPENDIX. 



inequalities of the surface, or spread over tlie ground be- 
tween the drains, as circumstances may dictate. 

In planting waste lands, the first operation should be 
the boundary fences, and these, where the lands are wet, 
may be formed of turf or sods. This serves a twofold pur- 
pose, viz. acting both as a drain, the cut preventing all 
the surface water flowing from the adjacent lands, as well 
as the under water, circulating through the earth to the 
depth to which the cut is made, and the earth raised 
from the excavation forming a face-fence against the in- 
trusion of cattle, &c. Those who have paid attention 
to this subject, must have often observed considerable 
portions of ground laid dry by means of a sunk fence ; 
indeed all grounds liable to wet should be enclosed with 
dike and ditch for the boundary fences : the general di- 
mensions of these are, the ditch 5 feet wide at top, 
feet wide at the bottom, and 2| or 3 feet deep, built with 
a scarsement of 1 foot, to secure the built dike from being 
endangered by the action of the frost upon the face of 
the ditch ; but when the grounds are dry, and materials 
easily procured, a stone -dike is beyond doubt the best de- 
fence. When the enclosures are face-fences, it is com- 
mon to sow whins on the top, which in a few years make 
an excellent fence. 

A dike and ditch of this description are represented 
in Figure IV. 



ON DTIAINING. 



407 



Fig. IV. 



A B, Ditch 6 feet wide at surface. 

BC, do. 24 feet deep. 

CD, do. 2^ feet wide at bottom. 

A E, Dike 2| feet high, built of feal or sods, raised from the sur- 
face A B. 
E F, do. 2 feet wide at top. 
W, Whin -bed on the top of the dike. 



408 



APPENDIX. 



TABLE 

Shewing the SoUd Contents of 1 runmng yard of Dram, from 
1 foot to 4^ feet deep, and from 1 to 10 feet hroad. 



1 Yard 
Length. 


Depth 
1 Foot. 


Depth- 
1 Ft. 6 In. 


Depth 
2 Feet. 


Depth 
2 Ft. 6 In. 


Depth 
3 Feet. 


Depth 
3 Ft. 6 In 


Depth 
4 Feet. 


Depth 
4 Ft. 6 In. 


Breadth. 






Y. F. 
















Y. F. 


I. 






y. p 


I. 


y 


F. 


I, 


1 


0 


0 3 


0 


0 


4 


6 


0 


6 


0 


0 


7 


6 


0 


9 


0 


0 10 


6 


0 19 


0 


0 


13 


0 


1 


6 


0 4 


6 


0 


6 


9 


0 


9 


0 


0 


11 


3 


0 


13 


6 


0 15 


9 


0 1 « 

1/ lc5 


0 


0 


20 


Q 


2 


0 


0 6 


0 


0 


9 


0 


0 


12 


0 


0 


15 


0 


0 


18 


0 


0 21 


0 




0 


1 


0 


U 


2 


6 


0 7 


Q 


0 


11 


3 


0 


15 


0 


0 


18 


9 


0 22 


g 


0 26 


3 




0 


1 


6 


n 

y 


3 


0 


0 9 


0 


0 


13 


6 


0 


18 


0 


0 


22 


6 


1 


0 


0 


1 4 


6 


I 0 


0 


1 


13 


0 


3 


6 


0 10 


6 


0 


15 


9 


0 


21 


0 


0 


26 


3 


1 


4 


Q 


1 9 


9 


I 1 5; 
■i lo 


Q 


1 


20 


Q 

o 


A 

4 


0 


0 12 


0 


0 


J8 


0 


0 


24 


0 


1 


3 


0 


1 


9 


0 


1 15 


0 


1 21 


0 


2 


0 


0 


4 


6 


0 13 


6 


0 20 


3 


1 


0 


0 


1 


6 


9 


1 


13 


6 


1 20 


3 


2 0 


0 


2 


6 


9 


5 


0 


0 15 


0 


0 


22 


6 


1 


3 


0 


1 


10 


6 


1 


18 


0 


1 25 


6 


2 6 


0 


2 


13 


6 


5 


6 


0 16 


6 


0 24 


9 


1 


6 


0 


1 


14 


3 


1 


22 


6 


2 3 


9 


2 12 


0 


2 


20 


3 


6 


0 


0 18 


0 


1 


0 


0 


1 


9 


0 


1 


18 


0 


2 


0 


0 


2 9 


0 


2 18 


0 


3 


0 


0 


6 


6 


0 19 


6 


1 


2 


3 


1 


12 


0 


1 


21 


9 


2 


4 


6 


2 14 


3 


2 24 


0 


3 


6 


9 


7 


0 


0 21 


0 




4 


6 


1 


15 


0 


1 


25 


6 


2 


9 


0 


2 19 


6 


3 3 


0 


3 


13 


6 


7 


6 


0 22 


6 




6 


9 


1 


18 


0 


2 


2 


3 


2 


13 


6 


2 24 


9 


3 9 


0 


3 


20 


3 


8 


0 


0 24 


0 


1 


9 


0 




21 


0 


2 


6 


0 


2 


18 


0 


3 0 


0 


3 15 


0 


4 


0 


0 


8 


6 


0 25 


6 


1 


11 


3 


1 


24 


0 


2 


9 


9 


2 


22 


6 


3 5 


3 


3 21 


0 


4 


6 


9 


9 


0 


I 0 


0 


1 


13 


6 


2 


0 


0 


2 


13 


6 


3 


0 


0 


3 10 


6 


4 0 


0 


4 


13 


6 


9 


6 


1 1 


6 


1 


15 


9 


2 


3 


0 


2 


17 


3 


3 


4 


6 


3 15 


9 


4 6 


0 


4 20 


3 


10 


0 


1 3 


0 


1 


18 


0 


2 


6 


0 


2 


21 


0 


3 


9 


0 


3 21 


0 


4 12 


0 


5 


0 


0 


10 


6 


1 4 


6 


1 


20 


3 


2 


9 


0 


2 


24 


9 


3 


13 


6 


3 26 


3 


4 18 


0 


5 


6 


9 


11 


0 


1 6 


0 


1 


22 


6 


2 


12 


0 


3 


1 


6 


3 


18 


0 


4 4 


6 


4 24 


0 


5 


13 


6 


11 


6 


I 7 


6 




24 


9 


2 


15 


0 


3 


5 


3 


3 22 


6 


4 9 


9 


5 3 


0 


5 


20 


3 


12 


0 


1 9 


0 


2 


0 


0 


2 


18 


0 


3 


9 


0 


4 


0 


0 


4 15 


0 


5 9 


0 


6 


0 


0 


12 


6 


1 10 


6 


2 


2 


3 


2 


21 


0 


3 


12 


9 


4 


4 


6 


4 20 


3 


5 15 


0 


6 


6 


9 


13 


0 


1 12 


0 


2 


4 


6 


2 


24 


0 


3 


16 


6 


4 


9 


0 


4 25 


6 


5 21 


0 


6 


13 


6 


13 


6 


1 13 


6 


2 


6 


9 


3 


0 


0 


3 


20 


3 


4 


13 


6 


5 3 


9 


6 0 


0 


6 


20 


3 


14 


0 


1 15 


0 


2 


9 


0 


3 


3 


0 


3 


24 


' 


4 


18 


0 5 9 


0 


6 6 


0 


7 


0 


0 



KuLE. — Add the width of the top and bottom together, half the sum is the 
average width, which look for in the side column, and look in the upper column 
for the depth, and in the column of intersection you have the solid contents, 
which multiply by the length, observing to carry 1 to the feet for every 12 
inches, and 1 to the yards for every 27 feet. 



( 409 ) 



No. II. 

ADDITIONAL REMARKS ON FENCING. 

In addition to the remarks on Fences, at pages 121, 
et seq,, it has been considered proper to add the follow- 
ing Notes, in regard to the expense of Stone-dikes, &c. 

Most estates in the north of Scotland have quarries 
upon them, out of which stones for dikes can be got. If 
the quarry-rock is thick, and requires to be blasted with 
gunpowder, and broken with the mash and wedges, the 
expense of quarrying will be about 18s. for each rood of 
dike, of 36 square yards. If the rock is thin, and re- 
quires no gunpowder, the cost will be about 9s. per 
rood. 

About 40 single cart-loads of stone will be required to 
each rood. Carriages may be stated on the following 
scale : — 



Distance. 
10 Scots chains, 



20 
30 
40 
50 

m 



do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 

do. 



Per Rood of 36 yards. 
12/6 

14/ 

16/ 

18/6 

21/6 

25/ 



410 



APPENDIX, 



A table for ascertaining the number of roods in a 
dike, according to the height, will be afterwards given. 
If the carriages are not contracted for by the distance, 
but paid for by the time employed, 6d. per hour is counted 
fair payment for a man with a horse and cart. 

If the stones are thick and large, or from a quarry 
which requires to be blasted, a double dike should be 
2 feet 6 inches broad at bottom, 3 feet 6 inches high, and 
1 foot 8 inches broad at top, over which there should be 
a coping of 9 inches. If the stones are thinner, they will 
answer to be 3 inches narrower. The expense of build- 
ing is the same in either case, and varies from lOs. to 
12s. per rood. 

A sunk fence, 20 inches deep, with six feet of a sloping 
bank, can be cast and built for 3s. 4d. per rood, 36 yards 
lineal measure. Facing with stone can be done at 7s, 
per rood, of 36 yards square, exclusive of the cost of the 
stones, of which there is required for this purpose about 
two-thirds of what is used for a double dike. If the 
height be 4 feet, a hedge has a fine effect on the top of a 
sunk fence, and may be either of thorns or beech, or 
both. If mixed, two thorns and one beech, 9 inches 
apart, will make a good hedge. 

Hedge-rows ought always to be planted in clean land, 
after fallow or green crop. If that cannot be done, the 
ground should be cleaned and manured with the spade 
before planting. If the fence be hedge and ditch, the 
size of the latter will, of course, be in proportion to the 

4 



ON FENCING. 



411 



purpose it is intended to serve in regard to di'aining the 
land. Wlien no drain is required but for the benefit of 
the hedge, a ditch 5 feet wide at top, 2 feet 6 inches 
deep, 1 foot wide at bottom, and 1 foot of scarsement, 
with all the earth formed into a bank of like dimensions, 
to back the hedge and protect it, is approved of. The 
margin betwixt the hedge-row and the ditch will depend 
on the depth of the latter. If 6 feet deep, the mai'gin 
should be 1 foot 6 inches. 



( 413 ) 



No. III. 
CATALOGUE 

OF THE 

MEDIUM PRICES OF FOREST TREES 



THROUGHOUT SCOTLAND FOR THE YEAR 1830. 





Price per 






Price 


per 




£ 




d. 






£ 


s. 


d. 


1000 


Ash, Common, 

1 year seedling, 










Birch, Common, 
1 year seedling, 








... 


0 


2 


6 


1000 


0 


2 


6 


... 


3 year do. 


0 


3 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


5 


0 


... 


transpl. 6 to 12 










transpl. 6 to 12 










inches. 


0 


7 


6 


... 


inches, 
1 to 2 feet. 


0 


10 


0 


... 


H to 2 feet. 


ft 

u 


1 1 


V 




0 




n 
U 


... 


2 to 3 feet, 


0 


14 


0 




2 to 3 feet. 


0 


18 


0 




3 to 4 feet. 


1 


0 


0 




3 to 4 feet. 


1 


0 


0 




5 to 6 feet, 


2 


5 


0 




4 to 5 feet. 


1 


5 


0 




Ash, Mountain, 

1 year seedling. 










Birch, Weeping, 
1 year seedling. 










0 


2 


6 




0 


3 


6 




2 year do. 


0 


3 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


5 


0 




transpl. 1 to 2 










transpl. 6 to 12 










feet. 


0 


18 


0 




inches, 


0 


7 


6 




2 to 3 feet, 


1 


0 


0 




1 to 2 feet. 


0 


15 


0 




3 to 4 feet. 


1 


5 


0 




2 to 3 feet, 


1 


0 


0 




4 to 6 feet, 


1 


]5 


0 




3 to 4 feet. 


1 


5 


0 




Alder, 










4 to 5 feet, 


1 


10 


0 




1 year seedling, 


0 


2 


6 




Chesnut, Horse, 










2 year do. 


0 


3 


6 




1 year seedling. 


0 


4 


6 




transpl. 1 to 2 










2 year do. 


0 


6 


0 




feet. 


0 


7 


6 




transpl. 6 to 12 










2 to 3 feet, 


0 


14 


0 




inches. 


0 


7 


6 




4 to 6 feet, 


1 


0 


0 




1 to 2 feet, 

2 to 3 feet. 


0 


10 


0 




Beech, 










0 


15 


0 




1 year seedling. 


0 


2 


6 




3 to 4 feet. 


1 


0 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


3 


6 




4 to 5 feet, 


1 


5 


0 




transpl. 6 to 9 










5 to 6 feet, 

6 to 7 feet. 


1 


10 


0 




inches. 


0 


5 


6 




1 


15 


0 




9 to 12 inches. 


0 


7 


0 




7 to 8 feet, 


2 


0 


0 




1 to 2 feet. 


0 


12 


0 




Chesnut, Spanish, 










2 to 3 feet. 


0 


18 


0 




1 year seedling. 


0 


10 


0 




3 to 4 feet. 


1 


5 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


15 


0 




4 to 5 feet, 




15 


0 













414 



APPENDIX. 





Price per 




Price per 






s. 


d. 


1000 




£ 


s. 


d. 


1000 


Chesnut, Spanish, 










Fir, Norway Spruce, 




















LlclIlapX. if LU 










inches, 


1 


0 


0 




12 inches. 


0 


10 


G 




1 to 2 feet. 


1 


5 


0 


... 


1 LO 1 ^ leei. 


0 


18 


0 




9 ^ fppf 


1 


7 


6 


... 


1 1 f f» 9 fppf- 

i. ^ LU ^ XcCL, 


1 


0 


0 


... 


•J LU ^ lecL-. 


1 


10 


0 


... 


2 to 3 feet. 


1 


5 


0 


... 


4 to 5 fppt 


1 


12 


6 


... 


3 tn 4 fppt 


1 


10 


0 




5 to fi fppt 


1 


15 


0 




Fit* VPn Sn>*nr*p 

X 11, 1 CU. K->^ll UUt:, 

1 year seedling, 










O to / IfcJcLj 


2 


0 


0 


... 


0 


2 


0 




7 tn J? fppl- 


2 


10 


0 


... 


y cell LIU. 


0 


3 


6 




1.1m, ocots, 

1 year seedling, 










1 to 14 feet. 


0 


7 


6 




0 


3 


6 




10 £1 leei. 


0 


10 


6 




2 year do. 


0 


4 


6 




^ LO 0 IccL, 
X llj WIllLc opi UCc, 


0 


15 


0 




tiaXiApi* 1 LU 


















leet, 


0 


7 


6 




1 year seedling. 


0 


2 


0 




1 i to 2 fppt 


0 


10 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


3 


0 




^ LU O IccLj 


0 


12 


6 




Llallspi. £1 LO t 










3 to 4 feet 


0 


18 


0 




inches, 


0 


4 


G 




LO O Jltrcli, 


1 


1 


0 




4 to 6 inches, 


0 


6 


0 




O LO W IccL, 


1 


6 


0 




6 to 9 inches, 


0 


7 


G 




D LO / ItitJL, 


1 


10 


0 




1 to 1^ leei, 


0 


10 


0 




^ LU O iccL, 


1 


15 


0 




LO i£ leet, 


0 


12 


G 




Elm, English, 










^ LO 0 leet, 

Fit l^mplr Si'^vnpp 

X IJ , UldClV OUl LIL/C, 


0 


18 


0 




1 to li feet 


0 


5 


0 


100 










^ LO O IccL^ 


0 


7 


6 




1 year seedling, 

9 VPfIT i\c\ ^' 
^ y ^cix LIU. 


0 


5 


6 


100 


3 to 4 feet 


0 


18 


0 


... 


0 


7 


G 




A i" fx ^ TdCki" 

^ LU O It^trt^ 


1 


0 


0 




transpl. 3 to 6 










/S to fi fpet 


1 


5 


0 






0 


10 


0 


... 




1 


7 


6 


... 


U tU 


0 


12 


G 




Fir Scots 










0 tn 1 inrVip*? 


0 


15 


0 


... 


0 


0 


4 


1000 


1 LU 1^ XccL, 


0 


18 


0 


... 


2 year do. 


0 


0 


10 




1 f r» 1 1 fppf 

1 LO ij^ leet. 


1 


0 


0 




transpl. 1 year, 


0 


1 


0 


... 


z LO 0 leei, 


1 


1 


0 




9 vpafs 


0 


2 


6 




Fir "Ralm of (rilead 

X 11, XJCtXlll UX VJliCdlX, 

1 year seedling, 










1^ ir, nuvei , 










0 


4 


G 


1000 


1 year seedling, 


0 


3 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


6 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


4 


C 




Lianspi. 0 10 0 










LraXlspi. ^ LU ^ 










inches, 


0 


7 


6 


... 


inches, 


0 


7 


G 




G to 9 inches, 


0 


8 


G 




4 1"r» fi inr^IiPG 
*± LU U IIILIICO, 


0 


10 


0 




XXcl<^cl, v^UXXIillUil, 










C to 9 inches. 


0 


12 


G 




1 vpnr cjppnlinfT 

X y CdX OCClXXllig, 


0 


6 


0 




O in 1 9 in/^riPG 
O LU IIILIICO, 


0 


15 


0 




^ ycai UU. 


0 


10 


0 




J. LU ^2 -Ifc-CL, 


0 


18 


0 


... 


frnncnl fi in 19 
LI aXlopi. U LU liJ 










14 to 2 feet 


1 


0 


0 


... 


inches, 


0 


1 


G 


100 


2 to 3 feet 


1 


5 


0 




1 tn 11 feet 


0 


2 


0 




^ tn 4 fppi 
O LU 1 iCtL, 


1 


10 


0 




1| to 2 feet. 


0 


2 


6 




Fir, Norway Spruce, 










2 to 3 feet. 


0 


3 


0 




1 year seedling, 


0 


1 


6 




3 to 4 feet, 


0 


4 


6 




2 year do. 


0 


2 


0 




4 to 5 feet, 


0 


6 


0 




3 year do. 


0 


2 


6 




5 to G feet. 


0 


7 


6 




transpl. 2 to 4 










Hornbeam, 

1 year seedling, 










inches, 


0 


3 


C 




0 


3 


6 


1000 


4 to 6 inches, 


0 


4 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


4 


G 




G to 9 inches, 


0 


7 


6 













PRICES OF FOREST TREES. 415 







Price 


per 




Prick per 






s. 


d. 








s. 


(/. 




TT 

xlombeaiii, 

iranspi. o to u 










JVlaple, iLnglish, 

1 year seedling. 


















0 


5 


0 


1000 


inches, 


A 
U 


1 


0 


1 no 


2 year do. 


0 


7 


6 




1 to leet, 
1^ '■0 leet. 


A 
U 


1 


6 




t-i-»o VI c?r-»l 1 1 fn 9 

tianspi. ±2 to ^ 










Q 


1 


8 


. . . 


feet 


0 


3 


G 




j 10 o leet. 


A 
U 


2 


0 




9 tn foot 

z to 0 leec, 


0 


6 


0 


100 


«j 10 4 leet, 


A 

u 


2 


6 




0 to 4 leet, 


0 


7 


6 




4 to o leet, 


A 


3 


0 


... 


4 to 5 feet. 


0 


10 


0 




5 to 6 feet. 


A 


3 


6 


... 


IVTaple, Swedish, 










o LO t) leet. 


A 


4 


6 




1 year seedling, 


0 


6 


0 


1000 


X^dULll llUlXi, JjIlPllallj 










9 VOOT* fin 
> cell liU. 


0 


7 


6 




1 year seedling. 




2 


0 




transpi. 1^ to 2 










2 year do. 


A 
U 


3 


C 




foot 


0 


4 


0 




iranspi. o to 12 










z to 0 leet, 


0 


5 


6 


1*00 


inches. 


A 


5 


0 


... 


0 to 4 leet. 


0 


7 


0 




1 to 14 reet, 


A 

u 


6 


0 


... 


4 to 5 feet. 


0 


8 


0 




1^ to J leet, 


A 
U 


7 


6 


... 


uaK, 










9 fn -Poof 

^ to «5 leec, 


A 
U 


8 


6 


••• 


1 ^ronv Goo<11i'nrp 
1 y Cell octrl.liillL' , 


0 


3 


0 


1000 


0 to 4 leet. 


n 
u 


10 


0 


... 


9 1TOOT* nn 
^ y iz<lL iiU. 


0 


4 


0 




^ LU 0 itJcL, 

0 to 0 leet. 


X 


12 


6 


. « • 


tmn<5nl fi tn 0 










1 


14 


0 




inches. 


0 


10 


0 




0 to / leet. 


1 


16 


0 




0 tn 1 9 innlToc 


0 


15 


0 




0 to lu leet. 


0 


5 


0 




1 1 tn 9 foot 

1^ to ^ leet, 


0 


18 


0 




Laburnum, Scots, 










9 tn ^ foot 

to o leet. 


1 


5 


0 


... 


1 year seedling, 




3 


C 




^ tn 4 foot 


1 


10 


0 




2 year do. 


A 

u 


5 


0 




vjitiK, X uriicy. 










transpi. o to 1^ 










1 year seedhng. 


0 


10 


0 




inches, 


A 


7 


6 




2 year do. 


0 


18 


0 




1 f n 1 1 Poof 

1 LO 1^ leet, 


1/ 


10 


6 




t^ nnQnl 1 ti'^ 1 1 












0 


15 


0 




feet. 


0 


4 


0 


100 


9 tn -foot 


0 


18 


0 




1 1 t A 9 foot 


0 


4 


6 


... 


^ tn zl foot 




5 


0 




9 tn ^ fppf 


0 


5 


0 


... 


id tn ^ TY3ot 
H tU iJ IctJL, 


2 


7 


6 




^ to 4 fppt 


0 


6 


0 




<=i tn foot 

0 [0 D leet. 


9 


10 


0 




t tu O leet. 


0 


7 


0 




fi tn *7 foot 

0 to / leet, 




15 


0 




fi t-r, fi toot 
O to O leet. 


0 


10 


0 




Larch, 










Pine, ^V^eymouth, 










1 year seedling. 


A 


1 


6 


... 


1 year seedling, 


0 


5 


0 


... 


2 year do. 


A 
U 


2 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


7 


6 




^ iroQ 1* rin 
0 y Cell V.IU. 


0 


2 


6 




trnTTsnl fi to 0 










transpi. 1 year, 


A 


3 


6 




inches. 


0 


10 


0 




2 year, 


V 


4 


0 


... 


9 to 12 inches. 


0 


14 


0 




3 year, 


A 


4 


6 


... 


1 tn 1 1 foot 

1 to 1^ leet. 


0 


15 


0 


... 


9 tn ^ foot 

^ to 0 leet, 


A 

yf 


5 


0 




11 tn 9 Paa^ 

1^ to ^ leet. 


0 


18 


0 




*i tn 4 foot 

u to 4 leet, 


A 


6 


0 




9 tn ^ foot 
u VKi a leet, 


1 


0 


0 




Lime, 










Pi Y\ OO ot Ol* 

irHieaotcl , 










transpi. Ig to 2 










1 year seedling, 


0 


7 


0 




feet. 


0 


6 


0 


100 


2 year do. 


0 


8 


6 




2 to 3 feet. 


0 


8 


0 




transpi. 3 to 9 in.' 


0 


10 


0 




3 to 4 feet, 


0 


10 


0 




Pine, Cluster, 










4 to 5 feet, 


0 


12 


6 




1 year seedling, 


6 


5 


0 




5 to 6 feet, 


0 


15 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


7 


c 




6 to 7 feet, 


0 


18 


0 




transpi. 3 to 9 in. 


0 


10 


0 




7 to 8 feet. 


1 




0 




1 to 1 1 feet. 


0 


14 


0 




8 to 10 feet. 


1 


10 


0 




H to 2 feet. 


0 


16 


0 





416 



APPENDIX. 





Price per 




Price per 




£ 


s. 


d. 














Pine, Siberian, Stone, 










Poplar, com. white, 










1 year seedling. 


0 


5 


0 


100 


3 to 4 feet. 


0 


2 


0 


100 


2 year do. 


0 


6 


6 


... 


4 to 5 feet. 


0 


4 


0 


a.. 


transpl. 6 to 9 in. 


0 


7 


6 


... 


5 to 6 feet, 


0 


5 


0 


... 


1 to 14 feet, 


0 


10 


0 


... 


G to 8 feet, 


0 


G 


0 


.a. 


Plane, or Sycamore, 










8 to 10 feet. 


0 


7 


6 


... 


1 year seedling, 


0 


1 


6 


1000 


Service, 










2 year do. 


0 


2 


G 




1 year seedling, 


0 


2 


6 


1000 


transpl. 6 to 12 in. 


0 


5 


0 


... 


2 year do. 


0 


4 


G 


... 


i to 14 leet. 


0 


6 


0 




transpl. 1 to 1 ^ it. 


0 


1 


6 


100 


14 to 2 feet, 


0 


1 


6 


100 


14 to 2 feet, 


0 


2 


6 




2 to 3 feet. 


0 


2 


0 


... 


2 to 3 feet. 


0 


3 


0 


• •• 


3 to 4 feet. 


0 


2 


6 


... 


3 to 4 feet. 


0 


4 


0 


• •. 


4 to 5 feet. 


0 


3 


6 


... 


4 to G feet, 


0 


5 


0 


• a. 


5 to 6 feet. 


0 


4 


0 


... 


G to 8 feet. 


0 


7 


0 




6 to 8 feet, 


0 


5 


0 


... 


Sloe, or Blackthorn, 










Poplar, isiacK Italian, 










1 year seedling. 


0 


7 


0 


1000 


14 to 2 leet, 


0 


1 


6 


... 


2 year do. 


0 


10 


0 


... 


3 to 4 feet. 


0 


2 


6 


... 


transpl. 1 tol^ft. 


0 


1 


0 


100 


4 to 5 feet. 


0 


3 


6 


... 


14 to 2 feet. 


0 


2 


0 


... 


5 to 6 feet. 


0 


4 


4 


... 


2 to 3 feet, 


0 


2 


6 


. • . 


6 to 8 feet. 


0 


G 


0 




3 to 4 feet. 


0 


3 


0 


... 


8 to 10 feet. 


0 


10 


0 


... 


4 to G feet. 


0 


4 


0 


• a. 


Poplar, Lombardy, 










Walnut, 










14 to 2 leet. 


0 


1 


6 




1 year seedling, 


0 


5 


0 


aaa 


2 to 3 feet. 


0 


2 


0 


... 


2 year do. 


0 


7 


0 


• a. 


3 to 4 feet. 


0 


2 


6 




transpl. G to 12 










4 to 5 feet. 


0 


3 


0 


... 


inches, 


0 


3 


0 


... 


5 to 6 feet. 


0 


4 


0 


... 


1 to 1| feet. 


0 


4 


0 


• aa 


6 to 8 feet. 


0 


6 


0 


... 


2 to 3 reet, 


0 


6 


0 


.1. 


8 to 10 feet, 


0 


12 


0 


... 


3 to 4 feet. 


0 


7 


0 


... 


Poplar, berry-bearing. 










4 to G feet, 
G to 8 feet, 


0 


9 


0 


. .• 


14 to 2 feet. 


0 


1 


4 




0 


11 


0 


... 


2 to 3 feet. 


0 


2 


0 


... 


8 to 10 feet. 


0 


14 


0 


... 


3 to 4 feet. 


0 


2 


G 


... 


Willow, Huntingdon, 










4 to 5 feet, 


0 


4 


0 


... 


2 to 3 feet, 


0 


1 


0 


... 


Poplar, hardy Caro- 










3 to 4 feet, 


0 


1 


6 




lina, 14 to 2 leet, 


0 


1 


0 


... 


4 to G feet. 


0 


2 


6 


... 


2 to 3 feet, 


9 


1 


G 


... 


Willow, Dutch, 










3 to 4 feet. 


0 


2 


G 




2 to 3 feet, 


0 


1 


6 


... 


4 to 5 feet. 


0 


3 


0 




3 to 4 feet, 


0 


2 


0 


... 


5 to G feet. 


0 


5 


0 




4 to G feet. 


0 


4 


6 


aa. 


6 to 8 feet. 


0 


7 


0 


... 


Willow, Norfolk, 










8 to 10 feet. 


0 


9 


0 


... 


2 to 3 feet. 


0 


1 


G 


aa. 


Poplar, Egyptian, 










3 to 4 feet, 


0 


2 


6 


aaa 


14 to 2 leet, 


0 


1 


0 




4 to G feet. 
Willow, Bedford, 


0 


5 


0 


... 


2 to 3 feet. 


0 


2 


0 














0 


4 


G 




2 to 3 fppt 


0 


I 


0 




4 to 5 feet, 


0 


5 


0 




3 to 4 feet. 


0 


3 


6 




6 to 6 feet, 


0 


6 


0 




4 to G feet. 


0 


4 


0 




6 to 8 feet, 


0 


7 


6 




Willow, for baskets, 










8 to 10 feet, 


0 


9 


0 




almond-leaved. 


0 


4 


0 




Poplar, Common 










golden. 


0 


4 


0 




white, 1| to 2 feet, 


0 


1 


4 




sweet-scented. 


0 


3 


0 




2 to 3 feet, 


0 




G 













PRICES OF HEDGE PLANTS. 

PLANTS FOR HEDGES. 



417 





Price per 






Price 


per 




£ 


s. 


d. 






£ 


s. 


d. 




Barberry, 










Privet, Evergreen, 










1 year seedling, 


0 


4 


0 


1000 


transpl. 6 to 12 










2 year do. 


0 


5 


6 


... 


inches. 


0 


3 


0 


100 


transpl. 2 to 3 


0 


9 


0 


... 


1 to 11 feet, 


0 


4 


0 




feet, 










1^ to 2 feet, 


0 


5 


0 




3 to 4 feet, 


0 


10 


6 




2 to 3 feet. 


0 


6 


0 




Box, dwarf, 


0 


8 


0 


... 


Thorn, quickset, 










Box-tree, of sorts, 


0 


12 


0 


... 


I year seedling. 


0 


2 


6 


1000 


Briar, Svveet, 

1 year seedling. 










2 year do. 


0 


3 


6 




0 


5 


0 




transpl. 1 year, 


0 


5 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


6 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


7 


6 




transplanted. 


0 


10 


0 




3 year do. 


0 


9 


0 




Crab Apple, trans- 










4 year do. 


0 


12 


0 




planted, 


0 


7 


0 




Yew, 










Holly, 










1 year seedling. 


0 


4 


0 




1 year seedling, 


0 


5 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


5' 


0 




2 year do. 


0 


7 


0 




transpL 3 to 6 in. 


0 


3 


0 


1*00 


transpl. 3 to 6 in. 


0 


1 


9 


ioo 


6 to 9 inches. 


0 


4 


0 




6 to 9 inches. 


0 


2 


0 




9 to 12 inches, 


0 


5 


0 




9 to 12 inches. 


0 


3 


0 




1^ to 2 feet. 


0 


6 


0 




1 to 11 feet. 


0 


4 


0 




2 to 3 feet, 


0 


7 


0 




U to 2 feet. 


0 


5 


0 




3 to 4 feet, 


0 


10 


0 




2~to 3 feet, 


0 


6 


0 














3 to 4 feet, 


0 


7 


0 













( 418 ) 



No. IV. 
CATALOGUE 

OF 

EVERGREEN AND FLOWERING SHRUBS, 

ADAPTED FOR UNDERWOOD, WITH THEIR MEDIUM PRICES 
THROUGHOUT SCOTLAND, AT THE AGES PROPER FOR 
REMOVING THEM FROM THE NURSERY, FOR THE YEAR 

1830. 



Alatemus, 

common, 

gold-blotched, 

silver-striped, 

gold-striped, 

jagged-leaved, 
silver-striped, 
Arbor vitse, 

common, 

Chinese, 
Arbutus, 

common or Straw 
berry tree, 

red flowering, 

double flowering, 

eastern, 

alpine, 

fruiting. 
Barberry, 

red, 

white, 

Canadian, 

Cretan, 
Birch tree, 

dwarf, 

hairy dwarf. 
Bladder Nut, 

three-leaved, 

American. 





Price 


per 




Price per 


£. 


s. 


d. 




Box thorn, 


£, 


s. 


d. 




0 


16 


8 


100 


willow-leaved. 


0 


10 


0 


1 


1 


0 


0 




Box-tree, 










1 


0 


0 




common, 
gold-edged. 


0 


2 


0 




0 


18 


0 




0 


5 


0 




0 


16 


0 




curled-leaved. 


0 


6 


6 




0 


16 


0 




striped-leaved, 
blotched-leaved. 


0 
0 


7 
7 


0 
0 




1 


5 


0 




narrow-leaved, 


0 


5 


0 




2 


0 


0 




Bramble, 

double flowering, 
striped-leaved, 


0 
0 


8 
5 


4 
0 






0 


0 




cut> leaved, 


0 


5 


0 




1 


5 


0 




Buckthorn, 










1 


7 


6 




common, 
dwarf, or yellow 


0 


4 


6 




2 


15 


0 












2 


15 


0 




berried. 


0 


6 


0 




0 


15 


0 




alder-leaved, 
berry- bearing. 


0 
0 


5 
7 


0 
0 




0 


10 


0 




seaorHippophae, 


0 


7 


0 




0 


10 


0 




Canadian, 


0 


8 


0 




0 


15 


0 




Cherry, bird, 










0 


12 


0 




common, 
Carolina striped. 


0 
0 


6 

8 


0 
4 




0 


5 


0 




Carolina ever- 


0 


8 


4 




0 


5 


0 




green. 










0 


10 


0 




Virginian, 


0 


10 


0 




0 


10 


0 




dwarf Canadian, 


0 


8 


4 




0 


12 


0 




black Canadian, 


0 


5 


0 





PRICES OF SHRUBS. 



419 



Cherry, 

Cornish, 

double flowering, 
Crab-apple, 
paradise, 
common, 
scarlet-fruited Si- 

berian, 
transparent Sibe- 
rian, 
Virginian sweet- 
scented, 
evergreen, 
double flowering, 
Cypress, 

upright, 
spreading, 
deciduous, 
white cedar, 
Cytisus, 

sessile-leaved or 

secundus, 
hairy, or ever- 

green, 
black. 
Dogwood, 

white bemed, 
great flowering, 
female or corne- 
lian, 
upright, 
striped leaved, 
red twigged. 
New Holland, 
Elder, 

common black- 
berried, 
parsley leaved, 
green berried, 
red berried, 
swamp or Cana- 
dian, 
gold striped, 
silver striped, 
Elm, 

drooping, 
hornbeam leaved, 
dwarf Siberian, 
Evergreen Thorn or 

Pyracantha, 
Gale, sweet-scented, 
or Dutch Myrtle, 
broad-leaved A- 
merican. 



Price per 



£ s. d. 

0 5 0 

0 8 4 

0 8 0 

0 2 6 

0 IC 0 

1 5 0 

0 8 G 

0 10 0 

0 10 0 

1 5 0 

2 0 0 
1 0 0 
0 18 0 



0 14 0 

0 14 0 

0 16 0 

0 10 0 

0 7 0 



0 8 4 

0 8 4 

0 12 0 

0 8 0 

0 8 6 



0 8 4 

0 5 0 

0 5 0 

0 5 0 

0 6 0 

0 8 0 

0 6 0 

1 10 0 

2 0 0 
1 5 0 

1 4 0 

0 8 4 

0 8 4 



100 



Guelder-Rose, marsh 
or common, 

Virginian, 

snowball or doub. 

striped-leaved, 
Honeysuckle, 

common, 

long blowing, 

early red, 

early white, 

late white, 

red Dutch, 

early pale yellow, 

oak-leav. striped. 

evergreen, 

Minorca do. 

Virgmian, 

trumpet, 

Newfoundland or 
lesser trumpet, 

black-berried up- 
right, 

Tartarian do. 

Pyrenean do. 

blue-berried do. 

fly, 

St Peter's-v/ort, 
yellow flowering, 

common green, 
white berried'do. 
yellow berried do. 
smooth-leaved, 
saw-leaved, 
green hedgehog, 
striped-leaved, 
Juniper, 

common, 
English, 
creeping, 
Swedish, 
Spanish, 
brown berried, 
Virginian red ce- 
dar, 

Ivy, 

common, 
striped-leaved, 
2.1eaved, or Vir- 
ginian creeper, 
small leaved, 
Laurel, Bay, 
common, 
broad-leaved, 

D d ^ 



Prick per 



0 8 
0 8 
0 10 
0 10 



8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
8 

0 12 

1 0 

2 10 
0 10 
0 12 

0 10 

0 8 

0 8 

0 8 

0 8 



0 6 



0 8 
0 5 
0 5 
0 8 
2 10 

0 8 
0 8 
0 10 
0 6 
0 8 
0 6 

0 10 

0 10 

1 5 

0 15 
0 10 

0 16 
0 16 



420 



APPENDIX. 





Price per 




Price per 




4? 


St 


w» 








s. 


... 
a. 




Laurel, Bay, 










Rose, 










striped-leaved, 


1 
1 


A 
■k 


Q 


100 


maiden*s blush, 


A 

D 


o 

o 


A 
U 


100 


narrow-leaved, 


A 
U 


ID 


o 
o 


... 


great do. - 


0 


8 


0 


... 


Portugal, 


o 

U 


ID 


o 

CI 


... 


thornless. 


0 


7 


a 
O 


... 


striped Portugal, 


1 




A 
D 


... 


single yellow, 


0 


5 


0 


... 


Laurustinus, 










double yellow. 


0 


5 


0 


... 


common, 


A 
U 


ID 


A 


... 


red and yellow 










striped leaved do. 


u 


1 9 

J. ^ 


A 


... 


Austrian, 
dwarf Austrian, 


A 

D 


o 
o 


A 
U 


... 


shining-leaved. 


u 




A 
D 




0 


8 


6 


... 


hairy shining lea. 


A 

u 


1 A 
ID 


A 

U 


... 


double marbled, 


0 


1 A 
10 


0 


... 


Lilac, 










doub. red month- 










blue, 




10 


0 




ly, 


A 


lA 


A 

D 


... 


purple. 


A 
U 


J D 


A 
D 




double blush do. 


A 

D 


5 


A 

D 


... 


white, 


A 

u 




A 
\f 


... 


single musk. 


A 

D 


7 


0 


••• 


striped-leaved, 


1 
1 


A 

u 


A 

D 


... 


double musk, 
single Pensylva- 


0 


8 


0 




blue Persian, 


A 

u 


1 A 
ID 


A 

V 


... 










white Persian, 


Q 


in 


A 
U 


... 


nian, 


A 

D 


o 
tJ 


A 

% 


... 


cut-leaved do. 


A 
U 


1 A 
ID 


A 

D 


... 


double do. 


D 


1 o 


A 
U 


... 


Periwinkle, 










single Provence 










large green. 


0 


g 


4 




or cabbage. 


A 


o 


A 
D 




small green, 
double flowering, 




o 
o 






double Provence, 


A 

D 


in 
7 


c 
D 


... 


Q 


8 


4 




double white do. 


A 

D 


7 


D 


... 


^ white flowering, 


0 


/ 




... 


double blush do. 


A 

D 


/ 


o 


... 


silver-striped. 


A 
U 


1 A 


A 

D 




Childing's Pro- 


0 


8 


0 


... 


gold-striped, 


A 
U 


in 

ID 


A 

D 




vence, 
moss Provence, 










Privet, 










1 


R 
O 


A 

D 




common. 


A 


o 
o 


A 

D 


... 


great royal. 


A 

D 


1 A 
10 


0 


... 


evergreen, 
silver-striped. 


A 
U 


p 
o 


A 

D 


... 


evergreen. 


A 

D 


1 A 
lU 


0 


... 


A 
U 


1 A 
ID 


A 

D 


... 


single red Scots, 


A 

D 


5 


0 


... 


gold-striped, 




in 


A 
D 




single white do. 


A 

D 


E 

o 


A 


... 


Hose, 










single marbled do. 


A 

D 


7 


fl 

o 


... 


double white. 




5 


A 
u 


... 


double white do. 


A 

D 


1 A 
ID 


A 

u 


... 


white dog. 


A 
U 


1 A 
ID 


A 

D 




Sumach, 










alpine. 


A 




0 


... 


"Virginian, 


0 


10 


0 


... 


red Belgic, 
blush Belgic, 


A 


1 A 

ID 


0 


... 


stag-horn, red fl. 


0 


10 


0 




A 


1 A 

ID 


A 

D 


... 


smooth leaved. 


0 


8 


4 


... 


dwarf blush. 


A 
U 


o 
o 


A 

D 


... 


Carolinian, 


0 


10 


0 


... 


crimson Burgun- 










varnish-tree, 


1 


0 


0 


... 


dy, 


A 

u 


A 


A 




Syringa, 










dog or hap tree, 


0 


8 


0 




tall, or Mock o- 










cinnamon. 


A 
V 


o 
o 


A 




range. 


A 

D 


o 
o 


0 




double do. 


A 
1/ 


TA 
ID 


A 
D 




dwarf, 


A 

D 


o 
o 


0 


... 


damask. 


A 
U 


o 
o 


A 

D 




Carolinian, 


0 


10 


0 


... 


double damask, 


A 
U 


in 


A 




Thorn, 










blush, double. 


A 
U 


o 
O 


A 

D 




great American, 


0 


16 


0 


... 


sweetbriar. 


0 


5 


0 




maple-leaved. 


1 


0 


0 




semidouble red. 


0 


5 


0 




pear-leaved. 


1 


0 


0 




double red sweet- 










olive-leaved. 


1 


0 


0 




briar. 


0 


6 


6 




holly-leaved. 


0 


16 


0 




evergreen sweet- 










hollow-pear ber- 










briar, 


0 


10 


0 




ried. 


0 


16 


0 




Rose-mundi, or 










gooseberry -leav. 


0 


12 


0 




striped. 


0 


8 


4 




great fruited, 


1 


0 


0 




double velvet, 


0 




0 




cockspur, 


0 


16 


0 





PRICES OF SHRUBS. 



421 





Price per 




Price per 




£ 


s. 


d. 






£ 


s. 


d. 




Thorn, 










Virgin's-bower, 










Pyracantha-leav. 


0 


12 


0 


100 


evergreen, 
large flowering. 


1 


15 


0 


100 


willow-leaved, 


1 


5 


0 




1 


15 


0 




parsley-leaved, 


1 


5 


0 




sweet-scented. 


1 


15 


0 




jagged, 


0 


12 


0 




Virginian, 


0 


18 


0 




double flowering, 


0 


16 


0 




curled flowered. 


1 


5 


0 




yellow-berried, 


0 


12 


0 




common, or Tra- 










Glastonbury, 


0 


10 


0 




veller's joy, 
single purple, 


0 


16 


0 




scarlet flowering, 


0 


10 


0 




1 


5 


0 












double purple, 
single red, 


1 

0 


10 
16 


0 
0 





( 433 ) 



No. V. 
TABLES 

FOR 



MEASURING TIMBER, AND STONE DIKES, AND FOR 
ASCERTAINING THE NUMBER OF TREES TO BE 
PLANTED IN AN ACRE. 



4>M 



APPENDIX. 



EXPLANATION OF TABLE I. 

This Table requires little explanation, as every one must 
imow that the length and girth of the tree must be taken be- 
fore the contents can be known. If a tree tapers equally from 
the bottom to the top, take the girth in the middle, and di- 
vide it by four, which gives, what is technically called by mea- 
sm'ers, the side of the square ; that is, when the tree is mea- 
sm*ed after the bark is cut off, or after an allowance is given 
for it, which is generally 1 inch out of :jth of the whole 
girth ; as, if ^th of the girth, including the bark, be 9 inches, 
then 1 inch is deducted, and ^jth of the girth is only counted 
8 inches. But when trees taper unequally, it will be neces- 
sary to take the girth at different places, add them all toge- 
ther, and divide the amount by the number of times you have 
taken the girth. Suppose you have taken 6 girths, dividing by 
6 gives a mean girth, and, dividing the mean by 4, gives the 
.^ide of the square. 

The side of the square is marked in inches on the left-hand 
side of the Table, and the length, in feet, at the top ; the solid 
contents are found at the angle of intersection. For example, 
if the length of a tree be 20 feet, the girth 40 inches, ^tli of 
which is 10 inches for the side of the square ; then look at the 
top of the table for 20 feet, and in the same column, opposite to 
10 inches in the side of the square, you will find the solid coii- 
:tents of the tree to be 13 feet 10 J inches. 



MEASUREMENT OF TIMBER. 



425 



TABLE I. 

For ascertaining the Number of Solid Feet in any Tree, 
from 1 to 42 Feet long, and from 4 to 40 Inches in the 
Side of the Square. 



From 4 to 40 inches in Side of the Square, and from 1 to 6 feet 

long. 



^th of 


1 Foot 


2 Feet 


3 Feet 


4 Feet 


5 Feet 


6 Feet 


Girth. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. I. 


4> 


0 


If 


0 2§ 


0 


4 


0 




0 


6| 


0 8 




0 


If 


0 3i 


0 


5 


0 


6| 


0 




0 lO^Ig 

1 04 


5 


0 




0 4i 


0 


6i 


0 




0 


lOA 




0 




0 5 


0 


74 


0 


IOt'2 


1 




1 3^ 


6 


0 


3 


0 6 


0 


9 


1 


0 


1 


3 


1 6 




0 


H 


0 7 


0 


104 


1 


2 


1 


H 


1 94 


7 


0 


4 


0 81 


1 


Ok 


1 


41 


1 


84 


2 04 


n 


0 




0 9i 
0 lOf 


1 


2 


1 


6f 


1 


114 


2 4 


8 


0 




1 


4 


1 


91 


2 


2| 


2 8 




0 


6 


1 0 


1 


6 


2 


0 


2 


6 


3 0 


9 


0 


6| 


1 14 


1 


61 


2 


3 


2 


9| 


3 44 


91 


0 


74 


1 3 


1 


104 


2 


6 


3 


14 


3 9 


10 


0 




1 44 


2 


1 


2 


91 


3 


5f 


4 2 


101 


0 




1 6i 


2 


34 


3 


Of 


3 


9| 


4 7 


11 


0 


10 


1 Si 


2 


^9^ 


3 


4i 


4 


24 


5 04 


111 


0 


11 


1 10 


2 




3 


8 


4 


7 


5 61 


12 


1 


0 


2 0 


3 


0 


4 


0 


5 


0 


6 0 


121 


1 


1 


2 2 


3 


3 


4 


4 


5 


5 


6 6i 


13 


1 


2 




3 


61 
94 


4 


8| 


5 101 


7 04 


131 


1 


3| 


2 61 


3 


5 


Of 


6 


3| 
94 


7 7 


14 


1 


H 


2 84 


4 


1 


5 


5i 


6 


8 2. 


141 


1 


54 


2 11 


4 


44 


5 


10 


7 


34 


8 9 


15 


1 


6| 


3 14 


4 


H 


6 


3 


7 


9| 


9 44 


151 


1 


8 


3 4 


5 


0 


6 


8 


8 


4 


10 0 


16 


1 


9i 


3 6| 


5 


4 


7 


n 


8 


104 


10 8 


161 


1 


10| 


3 9i 


5 


8 


7 


6| 


9 


54 


11 4 


17 


2 


0 


4 0 


6 


0| 


8 


Oi 


10 


04 


12 04 


171 


2 


14 


4 3 


6 


44 


8 


6 


10 


74 


12 9 


18 


2 


3 


4 6 


6 


9 


9 


0 


11 


3 


13 6 


181 


2 


44 


4 9 


7 


14 


9 


6 


U 


104 


14 3 


19 


2 


6 


5 0 


7 


6i 


10 


«^ 


12 


64 


15 04 


191 


2 


71 


5 3i 


7 


11 


10 




13 


24 


15 10 


20 


2 


9| 


5 64 


8 


4 


11 


H 


13 


104 


16 8 


204 


2 


11 


5 10 


8 


9 


11 


8 


14 


7 


17 6 


21 


3 


0| 


6 14 


9 


21 


12 


3 


15 


3| 


18 44 


211 


3 


24 


6 5 


0 


74 


12 


10 


16 


04 


19 3 



426 



APPENDIX. 



From 1 to 6 Feet long. — contimied. 



ithof 
Girth. 


1 Foot 
Long, 


2 Feet 
Long. 


3 Feet 
Long. 


4 Feet 
Long. 


5 Feet 
Long. 


6 Feet 
Long. 


!• 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


1. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 




3 


4^ 


6 


8§ 


10 


1 


13 


5^ 


16 


9| 


20 


2 


991 


3 


6 


/ 


0^ 


10 


64 


14 


Of 


17 


7 


21 


1 


ico 


3 




7 


4^ 

6 


11 


Oi 

4 


14 


3 


18 




22 


04 


9Q1 


3 10 


7 


8 


11 


6 


15 


12 


19 


2A 


23 


OA 


9A 
S* 


4 


U 


8 


0 


12 


0 


16 


0 


20 


0 


24 


0 


9/( 1 


4 


o 


8 


4 


12 


6 


16 


12 


20 lOA 


25 


OA 


£tO 


4> 


,4 1 


8 


8i 


13 


Oi 


17 


44 


01 


0 5 


26 


04 




4 


6| 


9 


Oi 


13 


"4 
64 


J8 


3 

0| 

4 


99 


<?1 1 


27 


lA 


9« 


4 


ml 


9 


4§ 


14 


1 


18 


9i 


2a 


H 


28 


2 




4 




9 


9 


14- 


74 


19 


6,^ 

12 


9/( 


A. V 


29 


3A 


9^ 


5 


Of 


10 


J4 


15 


2i 

^4 


20 


3 


9 K 


^4 


30 


44 


971 
* ' f 


o 


Q 


10 


6 


15 


9 


21 


OA 
" 1 5 


9ft 




31 


6A 


9P 


5 


^\ 


10 


101 

3 


16 


4 


21 


94 


9f 
A/ 


92 
^3 


32 


8 




e 
O 


n 0 
7| 


11 


H 


16 


U 


22 


61 


9Q 
SO 


9 5 
*T5 


33 10 1 


90 ~ 


5 


10 12 


11 


8i 


17 


6i 


23 


44 

3 


90 


9 0 
«T2 


35 


04 


9Q 1 


D 


04 


12 


1 


18 




24 




on 


9 7 
-^12 


36 


3A 




D 


0 

0 


12 


6 


18 


9 


25 


0 ' 


31 


3 


37 


6 




6 


E 1 

54 


12 


11 


19 


44 


25 


12 


32 


3A 


38 


9A 


Qi 
oi 


6 




13 




20 


O5 


26 


8^ 


33 


4/2 


40 


04 




6 


101 


13 


93 


20 


8 


27 


61 


34 


5A 


41 


4A 


^9 


7 


n 


U 


2| 


21 


4 


28 


5§ 


35 


6| 


42 


8 




7 


4 


14 


8 


22 


0 


29 


4tV 
12 


36 


8A 


44 


OA 


SS 


7 




15 


14 


22 


8^ 


30 


3 


37 


9| 


45 


44 


QQl 


7 


94 


15 


7 


23 


44 


31 




38 


11 A 


46 


9A 


o-t 


8 




16 


0| 


24 


1 


32 


n 


40 


If 


48 


2 


^fil 
o*5 


8 


H 


16 


6^ 


24 


94 


33 


11 


41 


3i4 


49 


7A 


35 


8 




17 


0| 


25 


6| 


34 


101 


42 


6t\ 


51 


04 


354 


8 


9 


17 


6 


26 


3 


35 


OA 


43 


9A 


52 


6A 


36 ~ 


9 


0 


18 


0 


27 


0 


36 


0 


45 


0 


54 


0 


36^ 


9 


3 


18 


6 


27 


9 


37 


OA 


46 


3 1*5 


55 


6A 


37 


9 




19 


0^ 


28 


6i 


38 


0^ 


47 




57 


04 


374 


9 




19 




29 


34 


39 


0| 


48 




58 


7A 


38 


10 


0^ 


20 


0| 


30 


1 


40 


u 


50 


1§ 


60 


2 


38^ 


10 


34 


20 


7 


30 104 


41 


2 A 


51 


5A 


61 


9A 


39 


10 


6| 


21 


14 


31 


8^ 


42 


3 


52 


9| 


63 


44 


394 


10 


10 


21 


8 


32 


6 


43 


4A 


54 


2^ 


65 


OA 


40 


11 


n 


22 


2§ 


33 


4 


44 


^3 


55 


6§ 


66 


8 



MEASUREMENT OF TIMBER. 



427 



TABLE I — continued. 



From 7 to 12 Feet long. 



Jth of 


7 Feet 


8 Feet 


9 Feet 


10 Feet 


11 Feet 


12 Feet 


Girth. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


1. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


J. 




0 


9^ 


0 


10§ 


1 


0 


1 




1 


2| 


1 


4 


44 


0 


111 


1 


14 




3| 


1 


4§ 


1 


64 


1 


81 


5 


1 


2/3 


1 




1 


6| 


1 


H 

n 


1 


lOH 


2 


1 


5i 


1 




1 




1 


10| 


2 


2 




2 


^ 


6 


1 


9 


2 


0 


2 


3 


2 


6 


2 


9 


3 


0 


64 


2 




2 




2 


7§ 


2 111 


3 


2| 


3 




7 


2 


44 


2 


8| 
14 


3 


Oa 


3 


4| 


3 


9 


4 


I 


n 


2 


8| 


3 


3 


6i 


3 


10| 


4 


34 


4 


8i 


8 


3 


n 


3 


64 


4 


0 


4 


5| 


4 104 


5 


4 


84 


3 


6 


4 


0 


4 




5 


0 


5 




6 


Oi 


9 


3 111 


4 


6 


6 


0| 


5 


74 


6 


H 


7 


6i 


94 


4 


44 


5 


0 


5 


74 


6 


3 


6 


10| 


7 


6| 


10 


4 


104 


5 


64 


6 


3 


6 


114 


7 


74 


8 


4 


104 


.5 




6 


14 


6 


10| 


7 


7f 


8 


5 


9 


2i 


11 


5 104 


6 


8| 


7 


6| 


8 


4f 


9 


3 


10 


1 


114 


6 


5 


7 


4 


8 


34 


9 


2i 


10 


n 


11 


Ok 


12 


7 


0 


8 


0 


9 


0 


10 


0 


11 


0 


12 


0 


124 


7 


7 


8 


H 


9 


9 


10 101 


11 


lU 


13 


04 


13 


8 


24 


9 




10 


6| 


11 


8f 


12 


10| 


14 


1 


134 


8 




10 


14 


11 


4| 


12 


7f 


13 11 


15 


2i 


14 


9 


6i 


10 104 


12 


3 


13 


7i 


14 


llf 


16 


4 


144 


10 


24 


11 


8i 


13 


If 


14 


7 


16 


Of 


17 


6i 


15 


10 in 


12 


6 


14 


Of 


15 


74 


17 




18 


9 


154 


11 


8 


13 


4 


15 


0 


16 


84 


18 


H 

64 


20 


Oi 


16 


12 


5i 


14 


2| 


15 


llf 


17 


9i 


19 


21 


4 


164 


13 


2| 


15 


14 


17 


0 


18 


10| 


20 


94 


22 




17 


14 


0 


16 


0| 


18 


Of 


20 


Of 


22 




24 


Of 


17A 


14 


10 


17 


0 


19 


If 


21 


3 


23 


4| 


25 


6| 


18 
184 


15 
16 


9 

74 


18 
19 


0 


20 
21 


3 


22 


6 


24 
26 


9 

If 


27 

28 


0 

64 


0 


4| 


23 


9 


19 


17 


64 


20 


Of 


22 


6| 


25 


Of 


27 


6f 


30 


Of 


194 


18 


5| 


21 




23 


9 


26 


4f 


29 


04 


31 


8i 


20 


19 




22 


H 


24 


llf 


27 


94 


30 


64 


33 


4 


204 


20 




23 


H 


26 


^ 


29 


2^ 


32 


H 


35 


01 


21 


21 


5i 


24 


6 


27 


H 


30 


74 


33 




36 


9 


214 


22 




25 


8| 


28 


10§ 


32 


n 


35 


3| 


38 




22 


23 


6i 


26 


lOf 


30 


3 


33 




36 


llf 


40 


4 


224 


24 


7i 


28 


14 


31 


7§ 


35 


If 


38 


8 


42 


21 


23 


25 




29 


41 


33 


Of 


36 


81 


40 


4H 


44 


1 


234 


26 




30 


8^ 


34 


6 


38 


H 


42 


n 


46 


01 


24 


28 


0 


32 


0 


36 


0 


40 


0 


44 


0 


48 


0 



428 



APPENDIX. 



From 7 to 12 Feet long. — continued. 



ith of 


7 Feet 


8 Feet 


9 Feet 


10 Feet 


11 Feet 


12 Feet 


Girth. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 




F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 




29 




33 


^1 


37 


6| 


41 


8^ 


45 


10| 


50 


04 


25 


30 




34 


8§ 


39 


Of 


43 


4| 


47 


8H 


52 


1 


254 


31 


7| 


36 


H 


40 


71 


45 


If 


49 


8 


54 


2| 


26 


32 


101 


37 


6| 


42 


3 


46 


IH 


51 


7| 


56 


4 




34 


1/5 


39 


0^ 


43 


10| 


48 


9| 


53 


71 


58 


6| 


27 


35 


5i 


40 


6 


45 


6 


50 


71 


55 


8? 


60 


9 


271 


36 


42 


0| 


47 


3| 


52 


6^ 


57 


9| 


63 


Oi 


2R 


38 


H 


43 


6| 


49 


0 


54 


5^ 


59 


10| 


65 


0^ 




39 


5| 


45 


n 


50 


9| 


56 


4| 


62 




67 


8i 


2Q 


40 


10/2 


46 


8| 


52 


6| 


58 


4| 


64 


2il 


70 


1 


291 


42 




48 




54 


4§ 


60 


51 


66 


5| 


72 


6i 


30 


43 


9 


50 


0 


56 


3 


62 


6 


68 


9 


75 


0 


304 


45 




51 


8^ 


58 


1 2 


64 


71 


71 


Of 


77 


6i 


ox 


46 




53 


H 


60 


Of 


66 


8| 


73 




80 


1 


01 2 


48 


2| 


55 


H 


62 




68 


10| 


75 


94 


82 


8i 
4 


32 


49 


9g 


56 


lOf 


64 


0 


71 


I5 


78 


2§ 


85 


32| 


51 




58 


8| 


66 


01 


73 


80 


81 


88 


01 


33^ 


55 


IH 


60 


6 


68 


Of 


75 


n 


83 


21 


90 


9 




54 




62 


H 


70 


ll 


77 


111 


85 


81 


95 






56 


2^ 


64 


n 


72 


3 


80 


3| 


88 


3§ 


96 


4 


341 


57 


101 


66 




74 


4§ 


82 


71 


90 


11 


99 




35^ 


59 


61% 


68 




76 




85 


0| 


93 




102 


1 


35| 


61 


3^ 


70 


Oi 


78 


H 


87 


6| 


96 


31 


105 


0| 


36 


63 


0 


72 


0 


81 


0 


90 


0 


99 


0 


108 


0 


361 


64 




74 


0^ 


85 


3| 


92 


61 


101 


n 


111 


Oi 


37 


66 


6x^^ 


76 


0| 


85 


6f 

io§ 


95 


o§ 


104 


611 


114 


1 


37i 


68 


41' 


78 




87 


97 


71 


107 


5 


117 


2| 


38 


70 


2^ 


80 




90 


3 


100 


3^ 


110 




120 


4 


38^ 


72 


0/5 


82 




92 


7i 


102 


lU 


113 


n 


123 


61 


39 


73 


nr 


84 


6 


95 


Of 


105 


n 


116 


2i 


126 


9 


394 


75 




86 




97 


6^ 


108 


4| 


119 


21 


130 


Oi 


40 


77 




88 


10| 


100 


0 


111 


1 1 


122 




133 


4 



MEASUREMENT OF TIMBER. 429 
TABLE I. — continued. 



From 13 to 18 Feet long. 



ith of 


13 


Feet 


14 


Feet 


15 


Feet 


16 


Feet 


17 


Feet 


18 


Feet 


Girth. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


4 


1 






6| 


1 


8 


1 


9g 


1 


10| 


2 


0 


4i 


1 


9|| 


1 


Ills 
5i 


2 


1 1 


2 


3 


2 


4§ 


2 


6^ 


5^^ 


2 


3^ 


2 


2 


ll 


2 


9i 


2 


11/2 


3 


11 


5^ 


2 


82" 


2 


lli 


3 


If 


3 


4| 


3 


6| 


3 


9| 


G 


3 


3' 


3 


6 


3 


9 


4 


0 


4 


3 


4 


6 


6i 


3 


8f 


4 


li 


4 


4f 


4 


8^ 


4 


11| 


5 


31 


7 


4 




4 


91 


5 




5 


S3 


5 


9/2 


6 


14 


7i 


5 




5 




5 


101 


6 


3 


6 


71 


7 


O4 


8 


5 




6 


2§ 


6 


8 


7 




7 


H 


8 


0' 


8-1 


6 


H 


7 


01 
10; 


7 




8 


0^ 


8 


% 


9 




9 


7 


3| 


7 


8 


51 


9 


0 


9 




10 


11 


9i 


8 


If 


8 


91 


9 


4| 


10 


H 


10 




11 




10 


9 




9 


8§ 


10 


5 


11 


n 


11 




12 


101 


9 


11/. 


10 




11 


6| 


12 


3 


J3 


0! 


13 


94 


11 


10 


11t^2 


11 


H 


12 


7i 


13 




14 


3>2 


15 


li 


114 


11 


111 


12 


io| 


13 




14 


15 


0' 


16 


Q\ 


12 


13 


0 


14 


0 


15 


0 


16 


0 


17 


18 


0 


124 


14 


U 


15 


n 


16 


3| 


17 


4^ 

9| 


18 


5i 


19 


6i 


13 


15 


3 A 


16 




17 


41 


18 


19 




21 




131 


16 




17 




18 


llf 


20 


3 


21 


61" 


22 


H 


14 


17 


8i 


19 


Of 


20 


5 


21 


9| 


23 


ll 


24 


6 


141 


18 


llf 


20 




21 


103 


23 


4| 


24 


9i 


26 


3^ 


15 


20 


3| 


21 


101 


23 


6l 


25 


0 


26 


6l 


28 


14 


151 


21 


8i 


23 


4i 


25 


Oi 


26 


8| 


28 


4t 


30 


0^ 


16 


9Q 
^0 


1 3 






zo 


8 




^5 


o\} 




^io 
oZ 


0 


164 


24 


611 


26 




28 


4i 


30 


3 


32 


fl 


34 


01 


17 


26 


li^i 


28 


11 


30 


ll 


32 


n 


34 




36 


14 


174 


27 


71 


29 


9/. 


31 


10 3 


34 


n 


36 


Is 


38 




18 


29 


3 


31 


6 


33 


9^ 


36 


0 


38 


40 


6 


181 


30 


10| 


33 


31 


35 




38 


0^ 


40 


41 


42 


14 


19 


32 


7 A 


35 


H 


37 


?! 


40 


H 
3 


42 


7A 


45 


191 


34 




36 


11/, 


39 




42 


44 


10| 


47 


0 


20 


36 


H 


38 


lOf 


41 




44 


5| 


47 




50 


20^ 


37 


iii 


40 


101 


43 


91 


46 


8^ 


49 


7^ 


52 


6| 


21 


39 


9| 


42 


101 


45 


111 


49 


0 


52 


03 


55 


14 


211 


41 


8| 


44 


Hi 


48 


ll 


51 




54 


6| 


57 


9^ 


22 


43 


8i 


47 


n 


50 




53 


57 


If 


60 


6 


224 


45 


8/, 


49 




52 


8| 


56 


3 


59 


9^ 


63 


H 


23 


47 


9t^5 


51 


5| 


55 


u 


68 


9^ 


62 


5/5 


66 


14 


231 


49 


lOi 


53 


8i 


57 




61 




65 


^ 


69 


Oi 


24 


52 


0 


56 


0 


60 


0 


64 


0 


68 


0 


72 


0 



430 



APPENDIX. 



From 13 to 18 Feet long. — contintied. 



ith of 


13 


Feet 


14 Feet 


15 Feet 


16 Feet 


17 


Feet 


18 Feet 


Girth. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


I. 


r. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


T. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


241 


0* 




58 


A 1 

H 


62 


64 


66 




TA 
70 


1 A 1 
1"3 


75 


4| 


25 


00 




OU 


A 1 

9^ 


00 


14 


o9 




00 


n 5 
9t2 


7» 


1 1 

14 


251 


00 




/JO 




67 


8f 


72 


0 


*7ft 

76 


A 1 

9i 


ol 

ol 


35 


26 


1)1 


A 1 


65 


8| 
3J 


70 


5 


75 


1 1 


79 


A 9 

9| 


OA 


6 


261 


63 


4| 


68 


73 


If 


78 




82 


1 A t; 

10| 


87 


91; 


27 


DO 


34 


70 


101 


75 


111 
114 


ol 


0 


D/J 
00 


A ^ 

Of 


Al 

91 


1 1 
I2 


27i 


00 


73 


0 1 


78 


n 1 
94 


84 




qa 
o9 


Q 1 
^3 


94, 


»3 


28 


ITA 

70 




/6 


2| 


ol 


8 


87 




AO 

y< 




AQ 

yo 


A 
U 


281 


73 




78 




84 


74 


90 




A t 

yo 


1 A 9 

lOf 


1 Al 
101 


63 


29 


75 


111 

111 2 


Ql 

ol 


A 1 


»7 


T 1 

74 


AQ 




OA 

yy 




1 Ati 


1 1 


29^ 


78 


6| 


84 


74 


90 


71 


yo 




102 




1 AO 

1 Uo 


93 


30 


ol 


0 
0 


87 


0 




/J 
0 


1 AA 


0^ 


1 Aft 




llo 


6 


301 


QQ 
00 


113 
11$ 


AA 
tfU 


5? 


Aft 

yo 


1 A3 
IO4 


1 AQ 
lUd 


43 


1 AO 

luy 


Q5 


lift 
Ji lo 




31 


Oft 


rt 1 


yo 


1 


1 AA 


1 1 


1 Aft 


9 3 


1 1 Q 
llo 


K S 
'^12 


1 9A 


1 1 


311 


or* 
o9 


/J 1 1 


A<? 




1 AQ 


44 


1 1 A 
1 lU 


0 

0 


1 1 T 
117 


1 2 

^3 


1 Q 


9^ 


32 


no 


^3 


AA 


fi§ 


1 Aft 


0 
0 


1 1 Q 

1 lo 


A 1 

93 


1 OA 
lJU 


1 A 2 
lOg 


1 


0 


321 


yo 


1 n9 


«^4 


1 1 n 


fl 1 


1 1 T 
117 


43 


1 9 A 


O3 


1 QO 


A 1 


33 


Jo 




lUO 


mi 
IU2 




1 


1 Ol 
1 Zi 


n 
u 


1 9J? 


fi3 

04 


1 *ift 

loo 


1 1 

14 


331 


101 


3f 


109 


14 


116 


10| 


124 


81 


132 


5| 


140 


3^ 


34 


104, 


4| 


112 


4f 


120 


5 


128 


5^ 


136 


5! 


144 


6 


341 


107 




115 


8^ 


123 


111 


132 


3 


140 


6i 


148 




35 


110 


119 


11" 


127 


74 


136 


n 


144 


7/2 


153 


H 


Qf; 1 
0O5 


113 


H 


122 


H . 


131 


34 


140 


Oh 


148 


9^ 


157 


Gh 


36 


117 


0 


126 


0 


135 


0 


144 


0 


153 


0 


162 


0 


364 


120 


3i 


129 


64 


138 


9| 


148 


0^ 


157 


31 


166 


n 


37 


123 




133 


H 


142 


74 


152 


H 


161 


7/2 


171 


374 


126 


llA 


136 




146 


5| 


156 


3 


166 




175 




38 


130 


4| 


140 


41 


150 


5 


160 


5i 


170 


51 


180 


6 


381 


133 


9| 


144 


14 
101 


154 


4| 


164 


8^ 


174 


11| 


185 


3^ 


39 


13T 


3| 
lOi 


147 


158 


54 


169 


0 


179 


6| 


190 


n 


391 


140 


151 


84 


162 


64 


173 


H 


184 


2^ 


195 


04 


40 


144 


5| 


155 


61 


166 


8 


177 


H 


188 


10| 


200 


0 



MEASUREMENT OF TIMBER 



431 



TABLE l,-^continued. 



From 19 to 24 Feet long. 



\th. the 


19 Feet 


20 Feet 


21 Feet 


22 Feet 


23 Feet 


24 Feet 


'Girth. 



Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


I. 


r. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


4 


2 




2 


2| 


2 


4 


2 


H 


2 


61 


2 


8 


4^ 


2 


8 


2 


9| 


2 




3 




3 


2| 


3 


44 


5 


3 




3 


5| 


3 


71 


3 




3 




4 


2 


5^ 


3 




4 




4 




4 


7 A 


4 


Ql 1 


5 


04 


6 


4 


9 


5 


0 


5 


3 


5 


6 


5 


9 


6 


0 


64 


5 


6| 


5 


io4 


6 


If 


6 


5i 


6 


8| 


7 


04 


7 


6 


5| 


6 


94 


7 


1| 


7 


5| 
7 


7 


9| 


8 


2 


71 


7 


5 


7 


91 


8 


2i 


8 


8 


111 


9 


44 


8 


8 


H 


8 104 


9 


4 


9 




10 


24 




8 


81 


9 




10 


oi 


10 


6i 


11 


t>4 


11 


6i 


12 


04 


9 


10 


^\ 


11 


3 


11 


9| 


1 Q 


44 


12 


Hi 


13 


6 


91 


11 


lOf 


12 


61 


13 


If 
7 


13 




14 


4| 


15 


04 


10 


13 




13 


io4 


14 


1 K 

lo 


10 


15 lU 


16 


8 


loi 


14 


1?! 

A 


15 


31 


16 


1 


1 Cf 

lo 


17 


74 


18 


44 


11 


15 


16 


9t 


17 


7| 


18 


5| 


19 


4 


20 


2 


111 


17 


51 


18 


4i 


19 


3| 


2O 


2i 


21 




22 


04 


12 


19 


u 


20 


0 


Zl 


0 


99 


n 
U 


23 


0 




0 


121 


20 


7i 


21 


8i 


22 


9i 


00 
/SO 


101 


24 


Hi 


26 


0 


13 


22 




23 


54 


24 


7| 


AO 


9| 


27 


0 


OQ 

.CO 


2 


131 


24 


0 


25 


31 


26 


7 


a<r 

dl 


10 


29 


U 


30 


44 


14 


25 


101 


27 


24 


28 


7 


On 
^9 


iH 


31 


3 


32 


8 


141 


27 


8| 


29 


2i 


30 


8 


QO 
0^ 


H 


33 


7 


35 


04 


15 


29 




31 


3 


32 


H 


o4 


44 


35 


111 


37 


6 


151 


31 


H 


33 


41 


35 


04 


36 


8 


38 


4 


40 


0 


16 


33 


9i 


35 


61 


S7 
•j# 


4 


39 


1 1 
7 


40 


lOf 


42 


Q 
0 


161 


35 


u 


37 


91 


39 


«i 


41 


43 


5| 


45 


44 


17 


38 


H 


40 


11 


42 


If 


44 


If 


46 


2 


48 


2 


171 


40 


4| 


42 


6i 


44 


8 


46 


9i 


48 


11 


50 


04 


18 


42 


9 


45 


0 

6i 


47 
49 


3 
11 


49 
52 


6 

3i 


51 

54 


9 
8 


54 


0 

04 


184 


45 


1| 


47 


57 


19 


47 


71 


50 


If 


52 


71 


55 


If 


57 


8 


60 


2 


191 


50 


2 


52 


9| 


55 


5i 


58 


1 


60 


8| 


63 


44 


20 


52 


9| 


55 


6| 


58 


4 


61 


u 


63 


10| 


66 


8 


204 


55 


5| 


58 




61 


3^ 


64 


2A 


67 


1 5 

^12 


70 


04 


21 


58 


Si- 


61 


3 


64 


3| 


67 


44 


70 


5i 


73 


6 


214 


60 


ll! 


64 




67 




70 


7/. 


73 




77 


04 


22 


63 


10^ 


67 


2§ 


70 


7 


73 


IH 


77 


31 


80 


8 


22| 


66 


9^ 


70 


3| 


73 


911 


77 


4t^, 


80 


lOi 


84 


44 


23 


69 




73 


51 


77 


If 


80 


9| 


84 




88 


2 


231 


72 


10^ 


76 




80 


6A 


84 


4A 


88 




92 


04 


24 


76 


0 


80 


0 


84 


0 


88 


0 


92 


0 


96 


0 



432 



APPENDIX. 



From 19 to 24 Feet — continued. 



ithof 


19 Feet 


20 Feet 


21 Feet 


22 Feet 


23 Feet 


24 Feet 


Girth. 


Long-. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


1. 


F. 


I. 




79 


24 


83 


3 


8T 


6 A 

1 2 


91 


8 A 
"12 


97 


10^5 

1 2 


100 


01 


AO 


82 




86 


9| 


91 


1| 


95 


5| 


99 


11 


104 


2 




85 


n 


90 


3| 
101 


94 


9ii 


99 




103 


lOi 


108 


41 


/CO 


89 


2| 


93 


98 




103 


3^ 

3-5- 

12 


107 


112 

* * 3 


lis 


8 


OR 1 


92 


7^ 


97 


1 2 


102 


411 


107 


112 


lii 

1 2 

5i 


117 


01 




96 


2I 


101 


3 


106 


3i^ 


111 


2 


116 


121 


6' 


0*7 1 


99 


9| 


105 


12 


110 


3!5_ 


115 




120 


9-5- 


126 


o4 


oo 


103 


5! 


108 


10| 


114 


4^^ 


119 


91" 


125 


\v 

3 
83 


130 


8 




107 


2^ 


112 


5| 


118 


9-5_ 


124 


ll 

1 2 


129 


135 


44 




110 




116 


9| 


122 




128 


55 


134 


3li 


140 


2 




114 


91 

6 


120 


10 A 


126 


lOii 


132 


ll!5_ 


138 


llw 

x^ 


145 


04 


oU 


118 


9 


125 


0 


131 


3'" 


137 


6^^ 


143 


9 " 


150 


0 




122 


8^ 

G 


129 


2A 

12 


135 


711 


142 


1/2 


148 


"12 


155 


01 


ol 


126 


1 2 


133 


5§ 


140 


Ir 


146 




153 


5H 


160 


2 


31 i 


130 


11 


137 


9f 


144 


8^.5 


151 


7X2 


158 


5|" 


165 


4| 


QO 

Ai 


135 


8i 


142 


2| 


149 




156 


5| 


163 


6| 


170 


8 


^Ol 


139 


146 


8/2 


154 


0^5_ 


161 


4i\ 
44" 


168 


1 2 


176 


04 


00 


143 


151 


3 


158 


9§" 


166 


173 


Hi 


181 


6 




148 




155 


10^^ 


163 




171 


5x\ 


179 




187 


04 


o4 


152 




160 


H 


168 




176 


71 


184 


n 


192 


8 


04^ 


157 




165 


3| 


173 




181 


10,^, 


190 


li 


198 


44 


35 


161 




170 


If 


178 




187 


ll 


195 


'12 


204 


2 


351 


166 




175 


0/2 


183 


9!5_ 


192 


6x5 


201 


^X2 


210 


04 


36 


171 


180 


0 


189 


0^^ 


198 


0 


207 


0 


216 


0 


361 
37 


175 




185 




194 




203 


6/5 


212 


9x\ 


222 


04 


180 




190 


If 


199 




209 


11 


218 


7i* 


228 


2 


374 


185 


6i 


195 


3| 


205 




214 


lOiV 


224 


7i 


234 


44 


38 


190 


6i 


200 


6| 


210 


7 


220 


7^ 


230 


71 


240 


8 


381 


195 


6t 


205 


10/2 


216 


lil 


226 


5x'% 


236 




247 


04 


39 


200 


8? 


211 


3 


221 


Of 


232 


44 


242 


III 


253 


6 


394 


205 


lOi 


216 




227 




238 


4x^2 


249 


2/2 


260 


04 


40 


211 


1h 


222 


2§ 


233 




244 


5^ 


255 




266 


8 



MEASUREMENT OF TIMBER. 433 
TABLE I.— continued. 



From 25 to 30 Feet long. 



ithof 


25 Feet 


26 Feet 


27 Feet 


28 Feet 


29 Feet 


30 Feet 


Girth. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 




F. 


I. 


r. 




F. 


T. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


1. 


4 


2 


6i 


2 


10§ 


3 


0 


3 


H 


3 


2§ 


3 


4 




3 


3 


n 


3 




3 


iH 


4 


Oil 


4 




5 


4 




4 




4 


8i 


4 


10^ 


5 


Oj% 


5 


24 




5 


3 


5 


54 


5 


8 


5 


10/, 


6 




6 




6 


6 


3 


6 


6 


6 


9 


7 


0 


7 


3 


7 


6 




7 


4 


7 


H 


7 


11 


8 




8 




8 


9i^. 


7 


8 




8 


m 


9 


21 


9 




9 


10/3 


10 


24 


7i 

• 2 


9 


10 


If 

61 


10 


64 


10 111 


11 


10 


11 


8^ 


g 


11 


H 


U 


l2 


0 


12 


H 


12 


13 


4 


02 


12 


64 


13 


Ok 


I3 


64 


14 




14 


6/^ 


15 


Ot\ 


9 


14 


Of 


14 


n 


I5 


^\ 


15 


9 


16 


3| 


16 


104 


9i 

»'2 


15 


8 


16 


34 


l6 


11 


17 


6t^. 


18 


2t^^ 


18 


q 7 

^12 


lo 


17 


4^ 


18 


Of 


18 


9 


19 


5| 


20 


1§ 


20 


10 


"2 


19 


1§ 


19 


10 


20 


8 


21 




22 


2A 


22 




11 


21 


Ot'5 


21 


lOi 


22 


8i 


23 




24 


4^ 
7/. 


25 


24' 


Hi 


22 


in 


23 104 


24 


94 


25 




26 


27 


6/2 


12 


25 


0 


26 


0 


27 


0 


28 


0 


29 


0 


30 


0 


l2i 

^*2 


27 


n 


28 


*2 


29 


34 


30 


4/. 


31 




32 


6/s 


13 


29 




30 


6i 


3l 


H 


32 


10^ 


34 


OA 


35 


24 


l3i 

"2 


31 


7§ 


32 


lOf 


34 


2 


35 


5i 


36 


8^ 


37 


11/, 


14 


34 


0^ 


35 


41 


36 


9 


38 


H 


39 


H 


40 


10 


144 


36 


6 


37 


114 


39 


5 


40 


10/, 


42 




43 


q 7 


15 


39 


Of 


4o 


n 


42 


21 


43 


9 


45 




46 


104 


151 


41 


84 


43 


44 


45 


04 


46 


8t^. 


48 


50 


0/2 

4 


16 


44 


5h 


46 


2| 


48 


0 


49 


51 


6l^ 


•JO 


164 


47 




49 


1 5 


51 


ok 


52 111 


54 




56 


8/, 


17 


50 




52 


2| 


54 


2i 


56 




58 


60 


24 


174 


53 


2 


55 


34 


57 


5 


59 


6/, 


61 




63 




18 


56 


3 


58 


6 


60 


9 


63 


0 


65 


3^^ 


67 


6 


184 


59 


5 


61 


94 


64 


2 


66 


61^5 


68 


11^ 


71 


3/2 


19 


62 




65 


2^- 

* 6 


67 


8| 


70 


2^ 


72 


8A 


75 


24 


194 


60 


0? 


68 


7| 


71 


34 


73 


Hi 


76 


6il 


79 


2/2 


20 


69 


5^ 


72 


2i 


75 


0 


77 


9| 


80 


6| 


83 


4 


204 


72 114 


75 104 


78 


94 


81 


8/. 


84 


7t^3 


87 


6/. 


21 


76 


6| 


79 


74 


82 


84 


85 


9 


88 


9| 


91 


104 


214 


80 


3 


83 


5| 


86 


8 


89 




93 


li^. 


96 


Q 7 
•^12 


22 


84 


0| 


87 


4| 


90 


9 


94 


1 ^ 


97 


5§ 


100 


10 


224 


87 


10| 


91 


4| 


94 


11 


98 


5| 
101 


100 


iiA 


105 


5/2 
24 


23 


91 




95 


6| 


99 


2i 


102 


106 


6/. 


110 


2Sl 


95 


104 


99 


81 


103 


61 


107 


4/1 


111 




115 


0/2 


24 


100 


0 


104 


0 


108 


0 


112 


0 


116 


0 


120 


0 



E e 



434 



APPENDIX. 



From 25 to 30 Feet — cojUinued. 



ith of 


25 Feet 


26 Feet 


27 Feet 


28 Feet 


29 Feet 


30 Feet 


Girth. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


1. 




I, 


F. 


I, 


F. 


I. 


F. 


J, 


F. 


J, 


F. I. 


241 


104 


2i 


108 


4i 


112 


6i 


116 


8-''- 


120 


10-7- 
^"1 2 


125 0/2 


25 


108 


" 1 2 


112 


lOi 


117 


21 


121 


61 
"3 


125 




130 24 


254 


112 
117 


102 


117 


4I 


1 21 


11 


126 
131 


5i 


130 
136 


1 1 5 

1 AT2 


135 5/2 
149 10 


26 


4l 


122 


0-2 
"3 


126 


9 


51 
"3 


1 2 


261 


121 


10 


126 


91 


131 


8 


136 


6 7 

T ^ 


141 


^12 


146 3y^2 


27 


126 


63 


131 


71 


136 


"4 


141 


9 ' 


146 


93 


151 10§ 


274 


131 


31 


136 


61 


141 


*'2 


147 




152 


S^7 


1'57 6/2 


28 


136 


li 


141 


6i 
" 3 


147 


0 


152 


3 


157 


102 

6- 
4V 


163 4 


28 1 


141 


Oi 


146 


' 6 


152 


31 

"2 


157 




163 


169 2 


29 


146 


Qi 


151 


101 




8i 
4 


163 


6i 


169 


175 24 


294 


151 




157 


1 i 


163 


2 


169 


2 7_ 


175 


3^' 


181 3/5 


30 


156 


3 


162 


6 


168 


n 


175 


0"' 


181 


3'^ 


187 6 


301 


161 


Q 


167 


Hi 




0 


180 


10 7 


187 


4J- 
^1 2 


193 9/5 


31 


166 


10 i 


173 


fii 

"6 


180 




186 


loT^ 


193 


g_5_ 


200 24 


311 


1 72 


H 


179 


J| 


186 


ni 


192 


11? 

4 


199 


91 1 


206 8/2 


32 


177 


91 


184 


10§ 


192 


Q 


199 


] 1 


206 


-^3 


213 4 


324 


183 


4 


190 


8i 


198 




205 


4L 


212 


8-7 


220 Oi\ 


33 


189 


03 


196 


7i 


204 




211 


9'" 


219 


3a 


226 104 


331 


194 


10 


202 


74 


210 


5 


218 


2 7 


22G 


0^ 


233 9/2 


34 


200 


8i 


208 


82 


216 


9 


224 


232 




240 10 


34| 


206 


7I 


214 


10| 


223 


2 


231 


5f 


239 




247 lly7_ 


35 


212 




221 


21 


229 


^ 


238 


i 


246 




255 24 


35i 


218 


H 


227 


64 


236 


31 


245 


253 




262 6-7- 


36" 


225 


0 


234 


0 


243 


0" 


252 




261 




270 0 " 


361 


231 


31 


240 


6L 


249 


91 


259 




268 


3 j'o 


277 6/, 


37 


237 




247 


91 


250 




266 


21 


275 


8/; 


285 21 


371 


244 




253 


10| 


26'3 


8 


273 


51 


283 


2/2 


292 11/^ 


38 


250 


4 


260 


Si 
71 


270 


9 


280 


91 


290 




300 10 " 


381 


257 


267 


277 


11 


288 




25)6 




308 9/^ 


39 


264 


0| 

101 


274 


74 


285 




295 


9 


306 


3f" 


316 101' 


394 


270 


281 


84 


202 


61 


303 




314 


1 2 


325 0/5 


40 


277 


95 


288 


10| 


300 


0 


311 


H 


322 


92 


333 4 



MEASUllEMENT OF TIMBER, 



435 



TABLE I. — continued. 



From 31 to 36 Feet long. 



ith of 


31 Feet 


32 Feet 


33 Feet 


34 Feet 


35 Feet 


36 Feet 


Girth. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 




F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


4 


Q 


5^ 


Q 




3 


8 


0 
0 


^^3 


0 
0 


10| 


A 

4 


u 


4| 


A 


4i 


4 


6 


4 


7§ 


A 


A 1 


4 


11 


5 


A t 

Of 


5 


5 


5ti 


5 


6§ 


5 


8f 


5 


1 A 'i 

lOf 


z; 


Oil 


6 


0 

0 


34 


t> 


6t2 


6 


81 


6 


IH 


7 


If 


7 


4i 


7 


o| 


6 


7 


9 


8 


0 


8 


3 




6 




9 


9 


U 


C4 


n 

y 


1t5 


9 


41 


9 


0 1 

°e 


A 


1 1 ff 


1 A 


0 1 


1 A 
lU 


6| 


7 


1 ft 

lU 






10§ 


11 


0 2 


1 1 


6| 


1 1 
1 1 


1014 


1 2 


Q 
0 


74 


1 « 




1 0 


0 




10| 


1 Q 

lo 


0 1 
^4 


lo 


Q 


l* 


fts 
Of 


8 






i 4 


21 




0 
0 


1 K 


J 1 


1 0 




10 


A 
U 






*i 1 


1 0 


A 2 




fi2 

"5 


1 7 


"3 


1 7 


fi2 


1 P 
J 0 


03 


9 


17 


lo 


n 
u 


1 H 
k 0 


(13 
"4 


19 


1 1 


1 Q 

ly 


9A 


Q 
0 


94 


1 0 


6^ 


Oft 

ZIP 


A 2 


OA 


tl 1 
^6 


21 


•i 2 
33 


ol 
zi 


1 1 1 

iH 


00 
Z4 


64 


10 


21 




a 2 
^^s 


90 


•3 


24 


-^3 


aO 


A 
U 




3 


lOi 






9/< 
«4 


/J 
0 


o«; 

CO 


0 g 


iCO 


A I 
^3 


ofi 




z7 




11" 


Of; 
Jo 


n r 

I'' 


9iR 


1 A 2 

10^ 


Z 1 


Ji3 
«f 


9ft 


6f 


sy 


1 1 


Qft 


0 


114 


so 


on 
Jy 


A 2 

41 


Qft 


Q 2 

3 


^1 

01. 


0 2 
^3 


t)9 

o« 


1 2 
If 


do 


fts 

"4 


12 


oi 


u 


09 


A 


00 


n 
U 


0* 


ft 


60 


A 
U 


00 


ft 


124 


00 




Qi. 
0* 


CJ 2 


Qti 
00 


Q2 

=^3 


00 


1 ft 2 


Q7 

o7 


112 


of 


"4 


13 


oO 


^7 


fi 2 


do 




Oif 


10| 


41 


ft 1 1 


/< 9 
4« 


q 
0 


134 






0 


41 






0| 


A A 

44 




40 


fi3 
"4 


14 


/1 0 


2? 


43 


ft -2 


44 


1 1 
1 1 


Afi 


3i 


4:1 


71 
H 


49 


A 
U 


14i 


/I /; 
40 


o_i_ 




8| 


4o 


0 I 


4y 


'7 2 
73 


ol 


oa 


fi3 


15 


4o 


01 


p. ft 


0 


0 1 


6f 


Oo 


1 1 


04 




00 


q 
0 


154 


51 


8% 
iP 


53 


4| 


55 


n 


56 


81 


58 


4| 


60 


Of 


16 


55 


56 


10^ 

3 


58 


8 


60 


5i 


62 


22 

3 


64 


0 


164 


58 




60 


6 


62 


41 


64 


3| 


66 


2 


68 


0| 


17 


62 


64 


2| 


66 


2| 


68 


2| 


70 




72 


3 




65 


68 




70 




72 


Q2 
'^3 


74 


5| 


76 


6| 


18 


69 


9'^ 


72 


0 


74 


3 


76 


6 


78 


9 


81 


0 


184 


73 


8 1 


76 


Of 


78 


5^ 


80 


9| 


83 


2i 


85 


6| 


19 


77 


80 


21 


82 


8f 


85 


2| 


87 




90 


3 


194 


81 


lor 


84 


6 


8T 


If 


89 


9^ 
5 


92 


5 


95 


Of 


20 


86 


11 


88 


lOf 


91 


8 


94 


97 


21 


100 


0 


204 


90 




93 


4§ 


96 




99 


2| 


102 


If 


105 




21 


94 


llp 


98 


0 


101 


Of 


104 


04 


107 


2i 


110 




214 


99 




102 




105 


111 


109 


If 

lot 


112 


4i 


115 


6| 


22 


104 


2P 


107 


c§ 


110 


11 


114 


117 


71 


121 


0 


224 


108 


Hi 


112 


6 


116 


Oi 


119 


123 


04 


126 




23 


113 


10% 


117 


6| 
8| 
0 


121 


2| 


124 


128 


6H 
^3 


131 


3 


234 


118 


10V 


122 


126 


61 
0 


130 


4i 


134 


138 


0| 


24 


124 




128 


132 


136 


0 


140 


0 


144 


0 



E e 2 



486 APPENDIX. 



From 31 to 36 Feet long — continued. 



ith of 


31 Feet 


32 Feet 


33 Feet 


34 Feet 


35 Feet 


36 Feet 


Girth. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


F. 


I. 


f)A 1 


129 


* 1 2 


133 


4| 

3 


137 


3 


141 


8i 

3 


145 


101 

3 


150 


01 


JtO 


134 


6t'- 
12 


138 


101 


143 


2| 
4 


147 


6| 

6 


151 


lOH 

12 


156 


3 




139 


lU 

4 


144 


6 


149 


01 


153 


61 

3 


158 


04 


162 


6| 
4 


Oft 


145 




150 


21 


154 


11 


159 


71 

3 


164 


31 

3 


169 


0 


Oft 1 


151 


'^12 


156 


01 


160 


111 


165 


92 

6 


170 




175 


6| 
4 


g» 

*7 


156 


162 


0 


167 


Of 

4 


172 


14 


177 


2i 
4 


182 


3 


OT 1 


162 


9_7_ 

1 2 
9i 


168 


01 

"3 


173 


31 
"3 


178 


61 

3 


183 


91 

•^3 


189 


0| 
4 


9« 
2o 


168 


174 


21 

*3 


179 


8 


185 


11 


190 


6| 

3 


196 


0 




174 


10! 


180 


6 


186 


1 2 

3 


191 


9? 


197 


5 


203 


OS 
4 


OQ 


181 


0-7- 


186 


101 

3 


192 


8| 
4 


198 


6l 

s 


204 


4H 
12 


210 


3 


OQ 1 


187 


4V 


193 


41 

3 


199 


51 


205 


5| 


211 


6i 

6 


217 


6# 


oU 


193 


9^^ 


200 


0 


206 


3 


212 


6' 


218 


9 


225 


0' 


Qni 


200 


3 1 


206 


81 


213 


2i 


219 


71 

3 


226 


li 


232 


65 


ol 


206 


loV 


213 


61 

"3 


220 


2# 
"4 


226 


10| 


233 


6H 


240 


3* 




213 


220 


6 


227 


4| 

3 


234 


31 

3 


241 


2 


248 


0^ 


QO 


222 


5l 


227 


6| 


234 


8 


241 


91 


248 


10§ 


256 


0' 


Q91 


227 


47_ 

5i^ 


234 


8| 


242 


01 

3 


249 


, 3 

4| 

3 


256 


81 


264 


0# 


OO 


234 


242 


0 


249 


61 

3 


257 


14 

2 


264 


8? 


272 


3" 


QQl 


241 




249 


4| 


257 


2\ 


264 


All 


272 


9| 


280 


6| 


o* 


248 


256 


10| 


264 


11 


272 




280 


111 


289 


0 




256 




264 


6 


272 


9| 


281 


2^ 


289 


34 


297 


6| 


35 


263 




272 


2| 


280 


8| 


289 


2| 


297 


8H 


306 


3 




271 




280 


Of 


288 


9| 


297 


6| 


306 


31 


315 


Of 


36 


279 




288 


0 


297 


0 


306 


0 


315 


0 


324 


0 


364 


286 




296 


Of 


305 


3| 


314 


6| 


323 


9i 


333 




37 


294 


8/, 


304 


2| 


313 


8| 


323 




332 


8i| 


342 




374 


302 


8| 


312 


6 


322 


3^ 


332 


01 


341 


94 


351 




38 


310 


101 


320 


10| 


330 


11 


340 




350 


111 


361 


0 


384 


319 




329 


4§ 


339 


8| 


349 


ii| 


360 


3^ 


370 


6| 


39 


327 


51 


338 


0 


348 


6| 


359 


14 


369 


81 


380 


3 


394 


335 




346 


8| 


357 


6| 


368 




379 


2| 


390 


n 


40 


344 


5^ 


355 


61 


366 


8 


377 




388 


10§ 


400 


0 



MEASUllEMENT OF TIMBER. 437 
TABLE I. — contmued. 



From 37 to 42 Feet long. 



4^th of 


37 Feet 


38 


Feet 


39 


Feet 


40 


Feet 


41 


Feet 


42 Feet 


Girth. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


I. 


F. 


!• 






F. 


!• 


F. 


I« 


F« 


I. 


F 




A 

* 


4 


1 1 


4 


92 

*3 


4 


4 


4 


^ 1 

^3 


4 


fi2 


4 


8 


A 1 


5 


2_5_ 


5 


d 1 
*i 2 


5 


'^4 


5 


/ 2 


5 


01 

0 g 


5 


10& 


5 




?\ 1' 


n 


* 6 


g 


91 
^4 


g 


1 1 1 


7 


1 5 

^12 


7 


3A 






Q 1 

4 


7 


lla 




^4 


g 


45 


g 


71 


g 


Q5 


0 


9 


3 


9 


g 


9 


9 


10 


0 


10 


3 


10 


Q 


/1 1 


10 


101 


11 


is 


11 


54- 


11 


gs 


12 


Oi 


12 


3^ 


7 


12 


/ T 9 


12 


Hi 


13 


31 


13 


7i 
'3 


13 


11 


14 


3A 

"2 


*7 1 
72 


14 


5 5 

5i 


14 


10 1 

102 


15 


2f 
■^4 


15 


7i 
* 2 


16 


01 


16 


45 


Q 


16 


16 


17 


4 


17 


94 
" 3 


18 


22 

■^3 


18 


g 


fil 
O2 


18 


6a 


19 


OS 
"4 


19 


61 
"4 


20 


0# 


20 


6& 


21 


0| 


Q 


20 




21 


41 

^2 


21 


1 li 
1 A4 


22 


6 


23 


03 
"4 


23 


71 

> 2 




23 


2i 


23 


^4 


24 


5a: 


25 


Of 


25 


81 


26 


35 


In 


25 


8i 


26 


42 


27 


1 


27 


94 
' 3 


28 


5I 
•^3 


29 


2 




28 




29 


1^ 

1 J' 


29 


lOi 


30 


74 
' 2 


31 


42 
^3 


32 


1| 


1 1 


31 


IV 


31 


32 


•^4 


33 




34 


75 
' 6 


35 


^^2 


1 1 1 

^^2 


33 


1 p 


34 


lol 


35 


9a 


36 


8^ 

'-'6 


37 


38 


gs 


19 


37 


0 


38 


0 


39 


0 


40 


0 


41 


0 


42 


0 




40 


il 


41 


2| 


42 


3 a 


43 


4s 

^ 6 


44 


5^ 

" 6 


45 


6^ 




43 


5tS 


41 




45 


9i 


46 




48 


■•■ 1 2 


49 


•J 2 


1 


46 


9H 


48 




49 


4i 

4 


50 


74 


51 


10^ 


53 


1^ 
* 6 


1 zl 


50 


4^ 


51 


81 


53 


1 


54 


5| 


55 


91 


57 


2 


1/4 1 


54 


Oi 


55 


51 


56 




58 


4| 


59 


101 


61 


35 


AO 


57 


91 


59 


44 


60 




62 


6 


64 


Of 


65 


7I 


1 


61 


8| 


63 


4f 


65 


Of 


66 


8| 


68 


4| 


70 


Of 


1 R 
•ID 


65 




67 


6§ 


69 


4 


71 


n 


72 


lOi 


74 


8 


l6i 


69 


iiA 


71 


10t5 


73 


8| 


75 


74 


77 


6i 


79 


4| 


17 


74 


3^ 


66 


3| 


78 




80 


3^ 


82 


3 A 


84 


34 


174 


78 


8i 


80 


91 


82 


in 


85 


0| 


87 


2^ 


89 


31 


18 


83 


3 


85 


6 


87 


9 


90 


0 


92 


3 


94 


6 


184 


87 


lU 


90 


31 


92 


81 


95 


0| 


97 


5^ 


99 


9| 


19 


92 




95 


3| 


97 


9i 


100 


3^ 


102 


9/2 


105 


34 


194 


97 




100 


4A 


102 


111 


105 


74 


108 


3| 


110 


lai 


20 


102 


9i 


105 


6| 


108 


4 


111 


11 


113 


lOf 


116 


8 


204 


107 


111 


110 


lOf 


113 


9! 


116 


8| 


119 


122 


6| 


21 


113 


3| 


116 


44 


119 


H 


122 


6 


125 




128 


74 


214 


118 


9i 


121 


111 


125 




128 


41 


131 




134 


9| 


22 


124 


4| 
Of 


127 


8§ 


131 


1 


134* 51 


137 


n 


141 


2 


224 


130 


133 


7tS 


137 


n 


140 


74 


144 


n 


147 




23 


135 




139 


7i 


143 


H 


146 


U 


150 




154 


34 


234 


141 


lOf 


145 


8| 


149 


6| 


153 


4§ 


157 


2i 


161 


0| 


24 


148 


0 


152 


0 


156 


0 


160 


0 


164 


0 


168 


0 



438 



APPENDIX. 



From 37 to 42 Feet long. — continued. 



ith. of 


37 Feet 


38 


Feet 


39 


Feet 


40 


Feet 


41 


Feet 


42 


Feet 


Girth. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


Long. 


I. 










F 


J, 


F» 


J, 


F» 


I, 






244 


10-4 








162 


6- ^ 


166 




170 


10^ 


17'i 


05 


25 


160 


'12 


164 


1 1 1 
^ A 6 


169 


31 

''4 


173 


71 
« 3 


177 
'■It 




182 


31 


251 


10/ 


Oil 


1 7 1 


7 1 


176 


1 1 


180 


72 


185 


IS 


189 


75 


26 


1/0 


81 " 


1 78 


4?- 


183 


1 


1 87 
10/ 


'^3 


192 


5s 
" 3 


197 


2 


264 


180 








190 


21 

■^4 


195 


0^ 


199 


111 
^^3 


204 


95 


27 


10/ 


Qa 
04 




42 


1 Q7 


5i 


202 


Q 


'>07 


"3 


212 


71 
/ 2 


271 


1 OJ. 


^4 


1 OQ 


"4 


9a J. 


Q3 






215 


34 


ecu 


6 


28 




^3 


^UD 




212 


4 


91 7 




223 


9-2 


99fl 


Q 
0 


281 


ons 
— uo 


^12 


01 1 


A 1 
^12 


91 Q 
Z Lit 


113 


99t 


71 
/ 2 


231 




9^6 


ins 


29' 


^ to 


1 1 

•^T2 


991 
^« 1 


1 1 1 


997 


^4 




7 1 
'3 


239 


5 5 


94n 


^2 


294 








73 


9^T 


®4 


94.1 


go 




^3 




ns 


30 


231 


3 


9^7 


(J 


243 


9 


350 


0 


256 


3 


262 


6 


304 




^4 


94 T 


^4 


251 


111 


000 


4| 


264 


101 


271 


^6 


31 




1 1 1 




7 1 

« 6 


260 


31 


266 


^^3 


973 


7 5 


280 


34 


314 


254 


1 1 1% 


9ni 


1 0 i 


268 


gi 


•27 ^ 


71 


282 


fil " 


289 


45 
^6 


32 


263 




970 


23 


977 


4 


9RJ 




9Q 1 


*^3 


9QR 


Q 
0 


324 


271 
* / * 


^4 


97S 


83 
04 


286 


0'' 


293 


45 


300 


g5 


308 


7i 


83 


97Q 


OS 
•^4 

4i 


9fi7 


41 


294 


111 


302 


Q 


310 


OS 


31 7 


334 


288 


296 


^4 


303 


iH 


311 


H 


319 


H 


327 


3| 


34 


297 


0^ 


303 


Of 


313 


1 


321 


n 


329 




337 


2 


344 


305 


9H 


314 




322 


4i 


330 


74 


338 


loi 


347 


1| 


35 


314 


9^ 


328 


3| 


331 


9i 


340 


3^ 


348 


9/2 


357 


34 


351 


323 


9f" 


332 


G| 


341 


3| 


350 


n 


358 


n 


367 


6| 


36^ 


333 


0 


342 


0 


351 


0 


360 


0 


369 


0 


378 


0 


361 


342 


3| 


351 


6| 


360 


Of 


370 


0| 


379 


3| 


388 


6| 


37 


351 


9t'o 


361 


3| 


370 


9i 


380 


3^ 
74 


389 


9i\ 


399 


34 


374 


361 


3ii 


371 




380 


101 


390 


400 


4| 


410 


1| 


38 


371 


0| 


381 


0|' 


391 


1 


401 


1 1 

^ 3 


411 


If 


421 


2 


381 


380 


lOi 


391 


1| 


401 




411 


H 


422 


0.^ 


432 


31 


39 


3S0 


9| 


401 


44 


411 


Hi 


422 


6 


433 


Oi 


443 


74 


391 


400 


10| 


411 


8| 


422 


6| 


433 


41 


444 


2t 


455 


0| 


40 


411 


^ 3 


422 


2§ 


433 


4 


444 




455 


6| 


466 


8 



( 439 



Length of 
One Rood. 


. (M (M <N <N (N <N (N 




Height of 
the Wall. 


(^oooocoQOcoeoos 


-^(Noo-^kocot-eoos© — © 

I— 1 rH 

OiCiOiO)O)Ci©O)9)O0i© 
I— 1 


Length of 
One Rood. 


1—1 1— < 


OiC«05(MC0(Ma5CC©<*-H«O 
©©{N(N-H^©©(MCv»^'-H 


Height of 
the Wall. 


i4i»t^CD05©^© 


rH(MCC'^lOI»t-eO©©r-<© 


Length of 
One Rood. 


H;ocoiooiO©t^ 


C5C0O5QDe0pH©CMPti;OO5© 
©G^'-H©(M^i-l©(M'-^©© 
-^©©©CiOCSCSCOCOCDCO 


Height of 
the Wall. 


^;ot>.coc5©^© 


r-HGMC0'*i0Otx.C005©--*© 



lJ l> lO CO © 



^■<*C0-H©XiOT(*t-»COOi© 

©©0'-<'-H(?^©'-H(M©F-<© 



CO CO C5 o 



<M <>» (M CM CO 



)-tff<scCTt*vo;ot-eoo50p-HO 

COCOMCOCCCOMMffOCOCO-^ 



© >0 O O 05 *c © 

O O O © r-t (M © 



)><-HCDCO-<*G«i-l© 
CV| r-( T-l .-H i-H ^ 



Ci'^(N0030eO«20JC5©© 

(N(N^©0©0(M(N(N»-*© 

O5(M«Oi-'«O«MC0HF«r-iC0i»'* 
C5Ci05CDt^t»«;0?OiOO*0 



SI 



;o t^eo 05 o 



o © © © © © 



(MM't^COt^COOS©.-!© 



440 



APPENDIX. 



TABLE III. 

Showing the Number of Trees that can be Planted on an 
Acre, whether the Scotch or the Imperial Acre, from 
1 Foot to 25 Feet distance Plant from Plant. 





The Scotch Acre. 


The Imperial Acre. 


Distance. 


irianis oi Lue 


x^ianLS 01 Liie 


X idniis 01 Llie 


jr^iants 01 tne 




Short 100 


Long 100 


Short 100 


Long 100 




of 5 Score. 


of 6 Score. 


of 5 Score. 


of 6 Score. 


Feet. 










1 


54760 


45633 


43560 


36300 


14 


24382 


20318 


19360 


16133 


2 


18690 


ll408 


10890 


9075 


24 


8761 


7301 


6969 


5808 


3 


6084 


5070 


4840 


4033 


H 


4470 


3725 


3556 


2963 


4 


3422 


2852 


2722 


2268 


4*4 


2709 


2257 


2151 


1792 


5 


2190 


1825 


1742 


1452 


54 


1810 


1508 


1440 


1200 


6 


1521 


1257 


1210 


1008 


64 


1296 


1081 


1031 


852 


7 


1117 


931 


889 


740 


"^i 


973 


811 


774 


620 


8 


855 


713 


680 


667 




758 


631 


602 


502 


9 


675 


562 


537 


448 


94 


606 


505 


482 


402 


10 


547 


456 


435 


363 


11 


452 


375 


360 


300 


12 


380 


317 


302 


252 


13 


324 


270 


257 


214 


14 


279 


232 


222 


185 


15 


243 


202 


193 


161 


16 


214 


178 


170 


141 


17 


189 


158 


150 


125 


18 


169 


141 


134 


112 


19 


151 


126 


120 


100 


20 


137 


114 


108 




21 


124 


103 


98 




22 


113 




90 




33 


103 




82 




24. 


95 




75 




25 


87 




69 















APPENDIX. 



441 



EXPLANATION OF TABLE III 



The preceding Table, from 1 to 3 feet, shews the number 
of Cabbages, Tm-nips, &c. that can be planted on an acre for 
feeding cattle. 

From 1 to 6 feet — the number of young Timber or Forest 
Trees that can be planted on an acre. 

From 6 to 20 feet — the number left after the first, second, 
and third cuttings. 

From 20 to 25 feet — the number of Fruit Trees that can 
be planted on an acre. 

By this Table may also be seen the difference or proportion 
between the Scotch acre and the Imperial acre. The first 
numbers in the second and fourth columns are the number of 
square feet in the Scotch and Imperial acres respectively ; so 
the Imperial acre is to the Scotch acre as 43*560 is to 54*760, 
or as £ 1, in money, is to £l : 5 : l/o. The proportions be- 
tween the nmnbers of the second and fourth columns, and in 
the third and fifth columns, are the same throughout the Ta- 
ble : therefore, supposing the plants to be acres, and, exchang- 
ing the titles, putting Scotch in place of Imperial, and Impe- 
rial in place of Scotch, the corresponding numbers in the se- 
cond and fourth columns, and in the third and fifth columns, 
1 



442 



APPENDIX. 



will be, the one the Imperial and the other tlie Scotch acres, 
corresponding to each other ; thus, 54v60 Imperial acres 
make 43-560 Scotch, and 36-300 Scotch acres make 45-633 
Imperial; hut these mmihers are not always exact, for the 
given distance will not produce an even number of trees with- 
out fractions, the expressing of which in the colimin of plants 
would not be proper ; it is therefore omitted. 



( 443 ) 



INDEX. 



Aberdeenshire, fir plants exported 
to England from, 31. Planting 
extensively carried on in, for the 
last 30 years, ibid. note. Finest 
pine forests in the island to be 
met with in that county, ibid. 
Nurseries in, 32, note. 

Acorns, season for sowing, 229. 

Age at which different kinds of 
trees ought to be removed from 
the nursery to waste lands, 130- 
136. 

Agriculture, waste lands prepared 
for, by planting, 12. 

Alder, description of, 51. SoU most 
proper for, 106-107. Properties 
and uses of, 393. 

America, supply of wood from, 4. 
Carriage of wood overland in, 5. 
Practice of clearing the land for 
cultivation, by burning the wood 
in, 6. Probability of the supply 
of wood from, ceasing, 5-7. 

Ash, description of, 47. Quality of 
soil best suited for, 103, 104. 
Properties and uses of, 387. 

Ash, Mountain, adapted for under- 
wood, 270. Propagation of, 271. 
Properties and uses of, 394. 

Balm of Gilead fir, description of, 

45. Soil proper for, 100. 
Beech, description of, 49. Quality 

of soil best for, 104. Properties 

and uses of, 389. 
Birch, description of, 51. Soil most 

proper for, 105, 106. Weeping 

and common, proper plants for 

underwood, 271. Properties and 

uses of, 392. 
Braemar Forest, gigantic specimens 

of Scots fir in, 96. 
Briar, sweet, proper for underwood, 

273. 

Burning of heath and furze, easiest 
method of clearing the ground for 
planting, and paring and burning 
recommended, 126-128. 

Canada, and the northern parts of 
Europe, the principal sources 



from which we are supplied with 
timber, 4. 
Carriage of wood over land in 

America, cost of, 5. 
Cattle must be excluded from young 
plantations, but may pasture in 
old woods, 1 1. 
Chestnut, Horse, description of, 49. 

Properties and uses of, 394. 
Chestnut, Spanish, description of, 
49. Properties and uses of, 390. 
Clearing land by burning, 6. 
Culture of trees must be adapted 
to their nature, 26. Differences 
necessary in different kinds of 
trees, ibid. 
Cuttings, propagation of trees by, 
74. 

Deciduous trees, estimated expense 

of planting per acre, 27. 
Dee-side, excellent for Scotch fir, 97. 
Ditching, a necessary preliminary 
to planting, 123. Best method of 
making, described, 125, 126. 
Don, river, quality of soil on the 
banks of, not favourable to Scotch 
fir, 96. 

Draining preparatory to planting, 
133, Additional remarks on, 399. 
Fig. I. representing a field with 
open surface drains, 400. Drain- 
ing performed with the plough, 
401. Fig. II. shewing the me- 
thod of draining, where the wet- 
ness arises from springs, 402. 
Fig. III. representing a springy 
bog, intended to be dried by 
Ellington's mode of draining, 403. 
Carrying a drain across a niiU- 
lead, 405. Fig. IV. representing 
a dike and ditch, 407. Table for 
calculating the contents of, per 
running yard, 408. 
Duties paid on timber imported into 
Great Britain in 1827, 1, 2, note. 
Dikes, tables for measuring, 439. 

Elevation at which trees will thrive, 
relatively to one another in all 
countries, 101-111. 



444 



INDEX. 



Elm, description of, 48. Quality of 
soil best for, 104. Properties and 
uses of, 388. 

England, seedling firs exported from 
Aberdeenshire to, 51. 

English writers, their maxims not 
to be implicitly adopted in Scot- 
land, 28-34. Particularly in re- 
gard to pruning firs, 29. 

Europe, northern parts of, supply of 
timber from, 4. 

Expense of planting waste land re- 
turned from the thinnings alone, 
8. Cause of unnecessary expense 
in planting, and necessary ex- 
pense per acre estimated, ibid. 

Experiments used in propagating 
oak, described, 242. Results of, 
ibid. 

Exposure or aspect of less conse- 
quence to planting than has been 
generally supposed, 108, 109. 

Farming, quantities of wood neces- 
sary in, and advantages of having 
it near to farms, 19, 20. 

Fencing, a necessary preliminary to 
planting, 120. Method of con- 
structing fences of different ma- 
terials, 121-123. Best stone dikers 
to be got in Mar, in Aberdeen- 
shire, and in Galloway, ibid. Ad- 
ditional remarks on, 409. 

Firs, estimated expense of planting 
per acre, 27. Pruning of, repro- 
bated, 29. Improper method of 
raising in the nursery recom- 
mended by Loudon, reprobated, 
31, 32. Seedling firs exported 
from Aberdeenshire to England, 
31. Cheapest method of planting 
originated in Aberdeenshire, 131. 

Fir-seeds, directions for collecting, 
77. Extracting, 79- 

Fir, Scotch, or Pine, properties and 
uses of, 374. 

Fir, Spruce, properties and uses of, 
386. 

Flowers proper for ornamenting 
woods, and seeds of, excellent food 
for birds, 280-284. 

Forced earth in nurseries disappro- 
ved of, 33. Exception, ib. note. 

Forest scenery, ornamenting of, 
270. 

Game, preservation and increase of, 
by means of underwood, 286. 



Glammis Castle, Forfarshire, soil of, 
and gigantic specimens of oak to 
be seen there, 100, 101. 

Glentanner Forest, gigantic speci- 
mens of Scotch firs in, 96. 

Ground, preparation of, for a nur- 
sery, 60. Pulverization of, by 
trees, 18, note. 

Hawthorn, description of^ 53. Pro- 
per for underwood, and propaga- 
tion of, 275. Properties and uses 
of the wood, 394. 

Hazel, description of, 53. A proper 
plant for underwood, and propa- 
gation of as such, 285. Properties 
and uses of, 394. 

Heath eradicated by planting, 11. 
Burning of, 120. 

Hedge-i'ows, trees in, render the 
ground on each side very unpro- 
ductive, 17. Reasons of, 18. 

Holly, description of, 53. Pi'oper 
for underwood and propagation of, 
276. Properties and uses of, 394. 

Horse-chestnut, soil proper for, 105. 
Properties and uses of, 394. 

Invercauld Forests, gigantic speci- 
mens of Scotch fir in, 96. 

Ivy, a proper plant for ornamenting 
plantations, and propagation of, 
278. Large-leaved or Irish kind 
recommended, ibid. note. 

Juice of trees, Mr Pontey*s theory 
of the circulation of, 165. Circu- 
lation of, described, 166-67. 

Juniper, a proper plant for under- 
wood, and propagation of, 277. 

Kinds of plants best adapted for 
speedy wooding in the pleasure- 
grounds of gentlemen's seats and 
villas, 341-344. 

Knees in shipbuilding, description 
of, 382, note. Directions for mak- 
ing knees of larch-roots, 382-386. 

Laburnum, properties and uses of, 
394. 

Larch, most commonly found in our 
forests, next to the Scotch fir, 42. 
Imported into Great Britain, 43. 
First known in Scotland at Dun- 
keld, 43. Large size of, in plan- 
tations in Perthshire and beams 
of, in Venice, 43. Soil proper for, 
97-98, Properties and uses of, 



INDEX. 



445 



375. Remarkable instance of the 
incombustible nature of ibid, note. 
Piles of, at Venice, 376. Con- 
struction of into agricultural im- 
plements, 377- A substitute for 
oak in shipbuilding, 378-386. 
Roots of, excellent ship - knees, 
382. Directions for making of, 
382. Plate showing a larch root 
before being cut out for knees, 
385. Plate showing two roots 
about to be made into knees, 384. 
Plate showing a root made into 
knees, 385. Common price of 
larch-knees, 386. 

Layers, propagation of trees by, 74. 

Leaves of trees form vegetable 
mould, and manure the ground 
where they fall, 14. 

Lime, an excellent manure for oak, 
228. Lining oak patches, direc- 
tions for, ibid. Difference be- 
tween the oaks in the limed and 
un limed patches, 242. 

Lime-tree, description of, 50-51. 
Properties and uses of, 391. 

Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Garden- 
ing, errors in, regarding the culti- 
vation of spruce, larch, and Scotch 
fir in the nursery, 31-32. Recom- 
mendation of, to force earth in nur- 
series disapproved of, 33. 

Manuring of nursery-ground, 63. 
Mar forest, gigantic specimens of 

Scotch fir in, 96. 
Measuring timber, tables for, 425- 

438. Stone-dikes, table for, 439. 
Monteath's suggestions concerning 

a nursery, 84, note. 

Nursery, choice of ground for, 54- 
60. Preparation of the groimd 
for, 61. Rotation of crops, 64, 65, 
Sowing the seeds of trees, 65-70. 
Transplanting, 70-73, note. Pro- 
pagating by cuttings and layers, 
74. Weeding, 75-76. Pruning, 
76. Saving the seeds of trees, 77. 
Extracting the seeds, 78, Kiln- 
drying fir-seeds, 79. Threshing 
the cones, 80. The kiln most pro- 
per for drying fir-cones, 82. Seeds 
rendered useless by being kept in 
bags, &c. 8?. 

Nurserymen undertake to plant 
waste lands per acre, 153-155. 



Nurseries, public, prices of young 
trees in, 413-421. 

Nurses for oaks and other deciduous 
trees, directions for planting of, 
221. Trees proper for protection 
of young oaks from spring and 
autumnal frosts, 222-224. 

Oak, quantity of, used in building a 
ship of 74 guns, 3. Description 
of, 45-47, Difference of, 46. Soil 
proper for, 100-103. Culture and 
management of, 182. Opinion 
that the soil and climate of Scot- 
land are not calculated for the 
production of, examined and re- 
futed, 182-200. Great quantities 
of, planted in the counties of A- 
berdeen, Banff, Moray, &c. &c. 
184. Abundance of, in Scotland 
in former ages, proved by old 
buildings being mostly construct- 
ed of it, 190, note. Discovery of 
a wooden bridge of oak over the 
river Dee, near Ballater, 191, note. 
Defects and errors of the common 
method of propagating, 200-220. 
Evil of transplanting, 203-208. 
Common method of planting oak 
disproved of, 214. New method 
of rearing, 220-237. Experiments 
illustrative of the advantages of 
the new method, 238-240. Di- 
rections for rearing succession 
crops of, and recovering oaks in 
a sickly or unthriving condition, 

247. Thinning oak plantations, 
and value of thinnings per acre, 

248. Recovery of oak in a sickly 
condition, 264-268. A proper 
plant for underwood, and propa- 
gation of, as such, 286. Proper- 
ties and uses of, 372. 

Oak coppice, sheltering of, 2^9. Sell- 
ing of, 260. Cutting of, 261. 

Oak stools, dressing of, 252. Leav- 
ing shoots for coppice, 254-256. 
Pruning of, ibid. 

Paring and burning, directions for, 
128, 129. 

Pasture, argument that planting di- 
minishes the value of, considered, 
11. Quality of, improved by 
planting, ibid. 

Pine-forests, the finest in the king, 
dom, to be found in Aberdenshire, 
31, note. 



446 



INDEX. 



Pinus Scotica (Scotch fir) most com- 
monly met with in Scotland, 36. 
Opinion that two distinct species 
of, exist in Scotland, first broach- 
ed in an able Treatise on Plant- 
ing in the Quarterly Review, 
ascribed to Sir Walter Scott, re- 
futed, 37-42. 

Plane or Sycamore, description of, 
48. Soil most proper for, 105. 
Proi)erties and uses of, 391. 

Planting, national advantages of, 1- 
7. Private advantages of, 8-10. 
Improves pasture of waste lands 
and prepares them for agricul- 
ture, 12-14. Reasons why it en- 
riches the land, 14-18. Advan- 
tages to farming from wood near 
farms, 19-20. Important for the 
sake of fuel in some parts of the 
country, 20. Improves scenery, 
20. Objections to, from the time 
required to bring wood to matu- 
rity, answered, 21. Description 
of various methods of, 136-143. 
By contract, advantages of and 
price per acre, 153-157. 

Plants, injured by being too much 
crowded in the Nursery, 89. 
Those betraying symptoms of dis- 
ease should be avoided, 90. Symp- 
toms of decay described, 91-92. 

Pleasure grounds, speedily wooding 
of, hints for, 337-368. 

Pontey, Mr, his error in saying that 
spruce will thrive in dry ground, 
130. 

Poplar, description of, 52-53. Soil 
most proper for, 107- Aspen pop- 
lar at Abergeldie, ibid. Proper- 
ties and uses of, 393. 

Preparation of the ground for a nur- 
sery, 60. Of the soil for planting 
waste lands, 120-130. 

Preservation of the seeds of trees, 
77. Fir seeds most troublesome 
to preserve, ibid. Time for ga- 
thering and extracting their seeds 
described, ibid. Kiln-drying, 79. 
Threshing and attention when on 
the kiln, 80. 

Propagating by cuttings and layers 
in the nursery described, 74. 

Pruning, neglect of, a serious error 
in the cultivation of wood, 28. 
Performance of, on wrong prin- 
ciples, still more dangerous, ibid. 



Pruning of firs reprobated, 29. 
Mr Pontey's system of pruning 
firs disapproved of, 158-165. Di^ 
ferent methods of described, 167- 
173. Season for, I71. 

Pulverization of the soil produced 
by trees, 18, note. 

Purchasing plants, 84. Gross error 
in, 86. Seedling larch large 
enough for being removed from 
the nursery, 87. Hardiness of 
the plants, how to be ascertained, 
88. 

Qualities of soil most proper for the 
different varieties of forest-trees, 
93. 

Quality of soil most proper for oak, 
100-103. Ash, 103-4. Elm, 114. 

Quantity of oak patches to an acre, 
235. 

Quarrying stones for dikes, and 
quantity of required for a rood of 
dike, expense of and of carriage 
per mile, &c. 409-411. 

Raspberry, wild, a proper plant for 
encouraging and sheltering game 
in woods, such as the hare, phea- 
sant, &c. 288. 

Recovery of oak wood in a sickly or 
unthriving condition, 264-268. 

Renewmg oak plantations, 250. 

Roads in plantations, directions for 
making, 149-150. 

Roots of trees derive food from the 
substrata, 14. 

Rotation of crops in'a nursery, 64-65. 

Sap, circulation of, described, 165- 
167. 

Saving the seeds of trees, 54. 

Scenery, natural, may be improved 
by planting, 20. 

Scotch fir ( Pinus Scotica J, soil pro- 
per for, 97. 

Season of planting, and distance and 
order of plants, 143-150. 

Seedling firs a certain size before 
they can be taken from the nur- 
sery, 56. 

Seeds of trees, preservation of, 77- 
Seventy-four gun ships, quantity 
of timber required for the erection 
of, 3. Scarcity of oak timber for 
that purpose in the] Royal Fo- 
rests, 4. 



INDEX. 



447 



Shelter to cattle from old woods, 11. 
Advantage of to young planta- 
tions, 222-22G. 

Shrubs proper for underwood, and 
propagation of, 272. 

Silver-fir, native of the Levant or 
south of Europe, 44-45. Soil 
proper for, 100. 

Soil of lands improved by planting, 
12. Pulverization of by trees, 18, 
note. Adaptation of trees to the 
soil, importance of, 23-25. Soil 
for a nursery, 58. 

Sowing of seeds in a nursery, 65. 
Season of sowing, 67. Protection 
from birds, ibid. 

Spruce, said to be a native of Nor- 
way, 44. Different species, ibid. 
Soil proper for, 98-100. 

Steuart's, Sir Henry, his method of 
removing large trees and giving 
immediate effect to wood, account 
of, 298-336. Selection of subjects, 
299-301. Balance and closeness 
of the branches, 302. Situations 
for finding subjects fit for removal, 
304. Preparation of the soil, 305. 
Manuring of, directions for, 306- 
309. Preparation of the trees be- 
fore removal, 309. Trenching of 
the ground preparatory to plant- 
ing, 313. Taking up and trans- 
porting the trees, 315. Pulling 
down of the trees, 317. Descrip- 
tion of transplanting machine, 
318. Planting the trees in their 
new situations, 320-322. Distri- 
bution of the roots in the pit, 
325-327. Support of the tree 
against the wind, 329. Treat- 
ment of the trees subsequently to 
removal, 330. Defending the trees 
from sheep, 331. Composition 
for recovering trees in a sickly 
condition, 333-335. 

Summary of different kinds of tim- 
ber, properties and uses of, 398. 

Supplementary remarks on shelter 
for deciduous trees, 150-157. 

Sycamore or plane tree, description 
of, 48. Soil most proper for, 105. 
Properties and uses of, 391. 

Table showing the number of trees 
that can be planted on an acre, 
440. 

Taking down large trees in woods 



without injuring those standing, 
directions for, 179. 
Thinning woods, neglect of, a seri- 
ous error, 28. Performance of on 
wrong principles still more dan- 
gerous, ibid. Directions for, 173- 
181. 

Thriving heath, a mark of fertility, 
115. 

Timber, value of, imported annually 
into Great Britain, 1. Properties 
and uses of the different kinds 
of, 369-396. 

Transplanting in the nursery, 70. 
Different modes of, 71, ^io^*?' Fix- 
ing the plants properly, 72-73. 
Different opinions regarding, ib. 

Transplanting machine. Sir Henry 
Steuart's, 318. 

Underwood, advantages of, 269-270. 
Plants proper for and cultivation 
of, 269-280. Preservation and 
increase of game by, 286. Plant- 
ing' of, with the design of training 
it into a succession crop of tim- 
ber, directions for, 289. 

Vegetable mould formed by leaves 
of trees, an excellent manure, 1 4. 

Waste lands, directions for ascer- 
taining the quality of from the 
wild plants that grow on it, 112- 
119. Supposed extent of in Scot- 
land fitted for planting, 1. Pre- 
sent value ot^ and the profit to be 
derived from planting them, 8. 
Pasture of, improved by planting, 
10. 

Weeding in a nursery, 75-76. 

Willow, description of, 52. Soil 
most proper for, 106. Properties 
and uses of, 393. 

Wood, succession crops of, 291-297, 
Failure in planting of, among old 
roots, 292. Cheapest way of 
planting old woods, 293. Treat- 
ment of the shoots arising from 
old wood v/hen intended for tim- 
ber, 285-297. Hints for giving 
speedy effect to, in the pleasure 
grounds of gentlemen's seats and 
villas, 337-368. Expense of 
])lanting per acre, 340. Kinds of 
trees which it is necessary to intio- 
duce, 341-345. Choice of plants^ 



448 



INDEX. 



345. Preparation of the ground, 
34-8. Qualities of soil best calcu- 
lated for giv^ing quick effect to 
trees, 849. Trenching of the 
ground, 350-352. Manure, quan- 
tity of, to be given per acre, 353- 
357. Planting of the trees, sea- 
son for, 358. Distances between 
the plants and their intermixture 
360-361. Management after 
planting, 362. Fencing, an in- 
dispensable requisite, and direc- 
tions for the erection of, 362-368. 



Woodbine or honeysuckle, a proper 
plant for ornamenting woods, and 
propagation of, described, 279. 

Woodlands, old, productiveness of 
when cultivated, 12. Instance of, 
near Ellon, Aberdeenshire, 13. 
Reasons of, 14-17. Trenching 
of, directions for, I7. 

Yew, a proper plant for underwood, 
and propagation of described, 
277. 



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